"The Official Blog of the AACM"

Friday, November 11, 2011

Making Sure Discharged Patients Stay That Way from H and HN

By Bill Santamour November 08, 2011

Nurses closely monitor medication use, reduce readmissions.

Marcy left the hospital with a lot of paper work, a container of pills and an appointment to see her physician the following month. The instructions were thorough and the discharge staff were patient and pleasant. But Marcy was still a little weak from the infection that had landed her in the hospital in the first place, and flustered by the whole experience. And, she had to admit, these days she got confused more easily than she had in the previous 83 years of her life; neither her memory nor her sight were what they used to be.

A few days later, Marcy mistakenly thought she had forgotten to take her morning medication and swallowed a day's worth all at once. The overdose nearly killed her, and she landed back in the hospital.

Her experience is not unusual, but with the renewed emphasis on improving quality of care and reducing readmissions, it has to become a lot more rare.

For the full article please go here.

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