Discharge summaries in aged care: improving communication between an aged care unit and general practitioners

Objective: Discharge summaries (DSs) allow communication between hospitals and general practitioners and are essential for continuity of patient care. Despite this important function, the most junior doctor on the medical team usually writes them. An internal audit and survey of general practitioners (GPs) and aged care facilities within the Bankstown sector of the South Western Sydney Area Health Service revealed significant shortcomings with DSs from the aged care unit at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital Method: A new DS form was designed specifically for aged care patients, and junior medical officers (JMOs) received training at the beginning of term with regular review and feedback throughout the term. Results: After three months a second survey was performed which revealed a significant improvement in the quality of DSs from the unit. Satisfaction with the pre-intervention DS form compared to the post-intervention form increased from 22% to 79%. JMOs benefited from extra education and the development of a problem based approach to writing DSs.