Determining patient discharge criteria in an outpatient surgery setting.
Discharge of an outpatient surgical patient to home implies that the patient is clinically stable and capable, to some degree, of self-care. Nurses currently have no formal evidence-based clinical criteria to assist them in determining outpatient surgical patients' readiness for discharge to home. Nurses often make discharge decisions based on their education, experience, and personal beliefs. The goal of this quality improvement project was to identify specific factors that outpatient surgery nurses consider in assessing readiness of patients for discharge. The results were used to develop orientation and educational programs for outpatient surgery staff members and were incorporated into a patient discharge assessment checklist.
Kingdon
Brenda
B
Flagler Hospital, St Augustine, Fla, USA.
Newman
Kevin
K