Emergency Physicians Should Go HOME

Whilst we are on the subject of checklists, here's a nugget from December's Emergency Medicine Australasia, with a tool that will help all of us to dispo. our patients more safely.

HOME: a mnemonic to facilitate ED discharge

Health literacy

Check patient understanding of diagnosis. Verbal + written education 

Organize follow up

Everybody needs a follow-up plan:

- GP (letter or phone call to GP) – specific time frame

- Outpatients referral

- Scheduled review in the ED

Medication

Explain prescription medication (timing, dose, compliance, side-effects)

Expectations

Give clear instruction on what to do if symptoms get:

- Worse

- No better (i.e. stays the same)

- Better

We should all be doing this anyway, but in the haste to discharge patients (especially in this new age of time targets), we may sometimes forget something which could potentially reduce the quality of the patient experience in their journey through the ED process.

 

And staying on the theme of checklists, I received a copy of Atul Gawande's The Checklist Manifesto for Christmas, and I'll be aiming to put a review out over the next couple of weeks.

Can Emergency Physicians Improve Quality of Care by Using Checklists and Going Home