The automated patient discharge summary: improving communication at transfers of care after completion of radiotherapy

Abstract

AbstractAimTo develop an auto-generated patient discharge summary for all patients being treated in the Radiation Therapy Department.Materials and methodsA patient discharge summary was developed using auto-generated data for all patients being treated in the Radiation Therapy Department. This ensures information relevant to the care of the patient is communicated effectively during transitions of care following radiation treatment, and provides a record of the treatment site(s), dose delivered, start/completion dates and contact information for Radiation Oncologists. The eScribe feature in MosaiQTM is utilised to auto-generate the patient discharge summary in less than one minute, and then printed and given to patients on the last day of treatment. This was piloted with palliative radiotherapy patients (n=22), who also completed a telephone survey.ResultsResults revealed patients had passed this document onto other healthcare providers and appreciated having a record of their treatments. Feedback was obtained from radiation therapy staff and the Patient and Family Advisory Committee. Subsequently, the language of the patient discharge summary was simplified and a disclaimer was added, indicating the document is not a complete radiation therapy treatment record. This initiative was then rolled out to all radiotherapy patients.FindingsOverall, the patient discharge summary allows for a quick, automated and standardised approach for transfer of information during care transitions without significant impact to the Radiation Therapy Departmental workflow.