Peoria Physician Awarded $1.3 Million Grant to Study Value of Hospital Discharge Software
Posted on November 5th, 2004
Communication among healthcare providers and patients at the time of hospital discharge is expected to be enhanced through the use of a new software program developed in Peoria by G. Stephen Nace, M.D. The anticipated benefits of the software led the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to award James F, Graumlich, M.D., a three-year, $1.3 million grant to study the results of this innovative approach to the discharge of hospital patients. Both Dr. Nace and Dr. Graumlich are faculty members of the University Of Illinois College Of Medicine at Peoria.
The primary hospital test site will be OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. In addition, OSF Sisters Community Healthcare Center, Heartland Community Health Clinic and the University Of Illinois College Of Medicine at Peoria will be active participants.
The software program is designed to prompt the discharging physician to respond to various aspects of the discharge, including: new or discontinued medications; post-discharge instructions for the patient; arrangements for future medical check-ups; and communication with the patient’s primary physician.
Immediately upon completion of all questions, patient-specific forms are printed and made available to the patient and included in his or her medical record. A summary is also printed and faxed the following business day to the patient’s primary physician.
According to Dr. Nace, this is a significant improvement over the current system, especially in timeliness. “We now prepare a handwritten brief summary and prescriptions,” he said. “With this software program, everyone from the patient to the referring physician receive accurate information very quickly.”
The study being conducted by Dr. Graumlich hypothesizes that the software program guiding the discharge process, patients will be readmitted less frequently over an extended period of time. He hopes to enroll 750 patients over the three years of the study. Patient consent will be required to have the computerized discharge process used. Comparisons will then be made with a randomized group who will continue to have the current discharge process utilized.
OSF Saint Francis was selected as a primary hospital site because hospitalists and resident physicians in the College of Medicine’s Internal .Medicine program are frequently involved in the discharge process. That program is headed by Sara Rusch, M.D.
Co-investigators for the study are: Jean C. Aldag, Ph.D., G. Stephan Nace, M.D., and Nancy L. Novotny, M.S., R.N., all with the College of Medicine at Peoria. Consultants include Howard Cohen, M.D., with OSF Saint Francis and John Whittington, M.D., with OSF Healthcare System.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) supports research designed to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. The research sponsored, conducted, and disseminated by the AHRQ provides information that helps people make better decisions about health care.
For more information, please visit www.ahrq.gov.
