Hospital Discharge Error

Poor communication is the culprit behind many of the most serious hospital and medical errors that exist. It is also a factor in reporting errors concerning pending test results at the time of discharge from a hospital. As a result, discharge miscommunication can lead to serious medical errors when a patient receives post-hospitalization medical treatment.

A recent study conducted in part by the Indiana University School of Medicine finds that the discharge summaries that are commonly found in discharge papers from hospitals are “grossly inadequate” when it comes to “documenting both tests with pending results and information about which doctors should receive the post-discharge test results.”

When a person is admitted to a hospital, it is not rare for a variety of tests to be ordered by the physicians, generalists, specialists, hospitalists, and any other medical staff to determine what may or may not be wrong with a person. These test results, particularly those concerning blood cultures, thyroid tests, and kidney function, frequently require post-discharge medical care. Unfortunately, some of the test results may not be readily available at the time of discharge and so the patient has a summary of where certain test results need to go to ensure that the best possible care is received.

In the study, the researchers found that 16% of the patients with pending results had those tests mentioned. In addition, merely 67% of the discharge summaries made mention of which primary care physician was responsible for caring for and following up with the patient after he or she was released from the hospital. Most scary are the 72% of tests that required some sort of treatment change that were not mentioned in discharge summaries. So, only 28% of patients had their doctors aware that they needed to follow up on the test results.

Contact a Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Attorney

If you have been the victim of a hospital discharge error, contact the Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. today at 215-238-1130.