Discharge summaries are an important part of making sure patients, families and care providers all have the right information when someone leaves the hospital.
Discharge summaries are an important part of making sure patients, families and care providers all have the right information when someone leaves the hospital. They act as an important conduit of information from the acute care team to the primary care team as patients transition back into the community.
Today, an artificial intelligence (AI) tool is helping Fraser Health staff and medical staff prepare discharge information more quickly and clearly.
The tool helps create a summary of a patient’s hospital stay – what happened, what treatments were provided and what follow-up care is needed. It is currently accessible to the approximately 60 medical staff using MEDITECH Expanse who joined the pilot and there are plans underway for it to be available to all Fraser Health MEDITECH Expanse users at a future date.
“This tool helps reduce the time and effort typically needed to prepare discharge summaries,” says Dr. Amyeen Hassanali, Fraser Health’s Chief Medical Information Officer.
“By lessening the administrative load for our staff and medical staff they have more time and energy to focus on patients.”
Since using this tool, Fraser Health clinicians have reduced the time it takes to complete discharge summaries from about 12.5 minutes to 5.5 minutes per patient.
“The AI tool works behind the scenes by pulling together key details from a patient’s hospital stay and creating a draft summary for the clinician to review,” explains Dr. Hassanali. “Staff and medical staff always check and edit the information before it is finalized, helping ensure accuracy and clarity.”
Fraser Health is one of the first health organizations to test this tool and gather feedback from our staff and medical staff who used it, an opportunity made possible because of our implementation of Meditech Expanse. More than 95 per cent said they would recommend it to a colleague, and most reported it made the process of creating discharge summaries easier and less mentally demanding.
The tool helps staff and medical staff avoid searching through long and complex records by bringing important information together in one place. For patients and families, this means clearer discharge information.
Clear discharge information is important because it ensures patients, their families and care providers have a comprehensive understanding of the care received during hospitalization and the steps for ongoing recovery. This can help reduce the risk of complications or readmissions and support a smooth transition from hospital to home or to other care settings.
Learn more about our transition to a fully electronic health record: Electronic health record - Fraser Health
