Digital communication between patients and healthcare professionals across disciplines and sectors after hospital discharge: facilitators, barriers and effects
ABSTRACT
Background:
Over the past decade, hospital admissions for orthopaedic surgery patients have been shortened, and the time for informing and educating patients prior to discharge is compromised. Transition of care from hospital to home poses a significant risk of adverse events. Patients have difficulty remembering information and struggle to assess the severity of symptoms after discharge, leading to unplanned telephone contacts and clinic visits. These inquiries are frequent and pose a significant burden on the healthcare system and the patients. The Covid-19 pandemic showed an emerging need to implement new communication technologies. Asynchronous digital communication (DC) may provide easy access to health care and seamless communication across sectors.
Objective:
The objective of this study is to investigate how DC can facilitate easy communication between patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs) across sectors and the effects of DC on patient-initiated telephone contacts after discharge.
Methods:
The overall theoretical approach is inspired by Continuity of Care and The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Sub-study I is a scoping review on DC between patients and HCPs after hospital discharge. Sub-study II explores DC in an orthopaedic surgery setting and through a triangulation of qualitative data collection techniques. Sub-study III investigates the effect of DC on patient-initiated telephone contacts after discharge.
Results:
Preliminary findings from sub-study I show that DC is increasingly used to support patient-provider communication after discharge. In sub-study II, preliminary findings show that DC is feasible in a real-life setting, providing patients with easy access to HCPs, who accept and adapt DC to existing cross sectoral workflows. However, barriers exist related to the technological integration between systems and individuals’ hesitation to use DC. In sub-study III, DC is to be tested in a RCT.
Conclusions:
This study generates new knowledge of asynchronous DC, that may guide future implementations across the healthcare system.
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