Date of Award
Fall 2019
Document Type
Capstone Project
Degree Name
Doctorate
Department
Occupational Therapy
Faculty Mentor
Jeremy Furniss, OTD, MS, OTR/L, BCG; Leslie Davidson, Ph.D., OT/L, FAOTA
Abstract
A Discharge Checklist to Combat Patient Readmission: A Case Study in a Skilled Nursing Facility focuses on the creation of a discharge checklist, as an intervention, to increase the competency for occupational therapists working in skilled nursing facilities discharging clients back to their home environment. A SNF (Skilled Nursing Facility) provides post-acute healthcare services and rehabilitation for patients following a hospitalization prior to discharging home (Burke et al., 2017). This case study for clinical improvement uses the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) quality model and a multiple case study research design for evaluation. The goal of the quality improvement process is to increase the competency of occupational therapists discharging clients to prevent reoccurring hospitalizations due to missed information during the discharge process. Based on the overall findings through a pretest and posttest design, an outcomes survey using a Likert scale, and a qualitative survey, the three participants self reported higher clinical competency following use of the intervention. This case study approach found anecdotal evidence that the discharge checklist benefitted three occupational therapists by providing a streamlined approach to identify and address potential barriers for clients returning to their home setting.
This project provides the development of a comprehensive discharge checklist for implementation by occupational therapists working in a SNF. The checklist was initially informed by a literature review and the author’s clinical experience. Qualitative feedback from three additional occupational therapists supported the revisions to the discharge checklist. The improved version of discharge checklist is available for occupational therapist to use in the future following this case study. The George Washington University IRB review board approved this research project.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
O’Connell, Shaylin, "A Discharge Checklist to Combat Patient Readmission: A Case Study in a Skilled Nursing Facility" (2019). Doctor of Occupational Therapy Capstone Projects. Paper 9.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/smhs_crl_capstones/9
Comments
© 2019 Shaylin O’Connell.