Hospitals Reduce Cost of Care Through Improved Discharge Periods - Research Paper

Introduction

Improving hospital discharge periods have reduced the cost of health usage to most of the patients over three decades, according to the statistics. There are various strategies that most countries have adopted in solving the patient discharge plan; for instance, the United States introduced Medicare, where the healthcare centers resort to a per-diem system to a flat payment system (Kripalani et al., 2007). The average inpatient ratio has continuously increased over a certain period in most countries, which brings this question of improving the discharge rate in the hospitals. The study will analyze ways of improving hospital discharge through medication reconciliation and education effects through the quality of care outside the hospital.

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The improvement of hospital discharge through medication, reconciliation, and education affects the quality of care outside the hospital in different ways. Patient discharge based on the medication purposes of the patient plays an essential role in transforming the standards of the healthcare quality currently. The patient will understand when he or she is allowed to take a particular drug. Most of the patients in the society will be responsible while making the right drug dosage as strictly prescribed by the doctor (Kripalani et al., 2007). This norm of patients understanding their condition and following doctor's advice will assist in improving the overall healthcare structure. Discharge through medication also will create room for patients to learn and understand the right dosage that complies with his or her body. The patient will be allowed to double-check the dosage and read the prescriptions before taking the dosage. The discharged patient will be in a position to comply with a respective dosage based on how his body reacts with the drugs.

The healthcare team will also find time for research and study a particular infection observed from the patient for a given period. The findings of the medical team will help in building and creating a more inclusive structure in the medical results (Romano & Mark, 1994). With such study and research, most patients will be in a position to find a lucrative cause of disease infection. The medication discharge period also allows the patient and his family and friends to cut on the cost of drugs and healthcare services that may turn to be expensive. The patient may resort to seeking home care services from a health practitioner with lucrative experience in the sector (Romano & Mark, 1994). After the patient has been discharged, the hospital organization will be in a position to develop a discharge plan that will ensure that all the patient's welfare is still catered for.

Discharging patients, through the use of reconciliation, has an impact on the quality of healthcare from one perspective to the other. The reconciliation will help both the patient and the healthcare service to know who will provide help after the discharge of the patient. Medical practitioners will examine the patients on whether they understand his health condition and some of the problems to watch for during this period (Romano & Mark, 1994). Both the patient and the healthcare personnel will create a mutual relationship that also will help in encouraging active cooperation in the medical services system in healthcare. With practical reconciliation among the medical departments in the healthcare, there will be an improvement of the health quality systems. Reconciliation also will allow the medical personnel to establish a medical plan that will guide all the patients while in their discharge period and ensure they receive proper medical services.

The medical personnel will be in the right position to engage with the patient's family and relatives of the discharged patients. The constant engagement from the medical team to the patient will assist in creating a conducive environment of partnering together effectively. The patient will be in a position to inform the medical team whether any equipment is required at home by the patients during his medical service at home. The medical personnel also will be notified after the patient discharge on how long he will take while attending functions such as dressing, bathing, bathroom, paying off bills, an appointment pickup (Romano & Mark, 1994). The following understanding and care among the medical personnel and the patient will help in transforming the healthcare sector for the better.

The improvement of hospital discharge through education has a massive role in transforming healthcare outside the hospital. The patient and his family will be in a position to perform medical care with the use of adequate medical care and services in healthcare. They will be in a place to learn and understand medical services and how to practice the skills effectively. The education also equips the patient to understand the right dosage he or she needs to take in order to fight the illness (Romano & Mark, 1994). The patient also will be in a position to follow the written dosage instructions on the right drug he is required for having at a particular period of time. The educational programs will equip the patient in understanding a specific plan he or she is needed to take in order to develop a useful health condition. Education also will provide the patients with the level of understanding of the need for home health and nursing services. The patient also will be educated on the services that insurance will cover the prescription of drugs and medical services.

The improvement of discharge on medication, reconciliation, and education has played an active role in the transformational of health quality in most parts of society. With the following factors initiated in the medical structure of the hospitals, most patients will be in a better position to transform their health and lives. The improvement of discharge on medication, reconciliation, and education has sincerely has changed the health services outside the hospital setups in the society currently.

References

Kripalani, S., Jackson, A. T., Schnipper, J. L., & Coleman, E. A. (2007). Promoting effective transitions of care at hospital discharge: a review of key issues for hospitalists. Journal of hospital medicine: an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine, 2(5), 314-323.Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jhm.228

Romano, P. S., & Mark, D. H. (1994). Bias in the coding of hospital discharge data and its implications for quality assessment. Medical care, 32(1), 81-90.Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/3766191