None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The overall goal of this study is to see whether we can improve the knowledge patients have about their hospital stay, their satisfaction with their hospitalisation, and their ability to complete the visits and testing that are recommended for when the patient goes home. The reason it is important to conduct our study is that patients may have more complications if they don’t fully understand hospital events and future recommendations at the time of discharge from hospital. An earlier small study showed that a patient’s understanding and satisfaction of their hospital admission improves when they are provided with a personalised one-page Patient Directed Discharge Letter (abbreviated as PADDLE) discussed with them by the doctor at the bedside. The purpose of this study is to see whether a newer and more uniform version of the PADDLE letter will be beneficial for patients compared to those who receive the standard hospital discharge letter. The individualised PADDLE will be explained by the treating doctor at the time of hospital discharge and the letter will include the reason for the hospital admission, the tests and treatments received as well as the recommendations for future management.
Interventions
Participants will be randomised (1:1) to a standard hospital discharge letter or both a standard hospital discharge letter AND a patient directed discharge letter (PADDLE) tailored to their individual situation and explained to them face to face by their physician.
Standard hospital discharge letters are written to the patient's GP. This letter describes the patient's hospital presentation, diagnosis, treatments and recommendations. The letter includes details of investigations and results, and
Participants will be randomised (1:1) to a standard hospital discharge letter or both a standard hospital discharge letter AND a patient directed discharge letter (PADDLE) tailored to their individual situation and explained to them face to face by their physician. Standard hospital discharge letters are written to the patient's GP. This letter describes the patient's hospital presentation, diagnosis, treatments and recommendations. The letter includes details of investigations and results, and is written using medical terminology for the doctor. All patients receive this standard letter at discharge. The patient directed discharge letter (PADDLE) is written using lay person's language and focuses on 4 headings: reasons the patient came into hospital, important tests and results, treatment received, and recommendations for when the patient goes home. Information is tailored to each patient's care and includes recommendations for follow up after discharge eg lifestyle changes, further testing, further contact with Health Professionals. Completing this PADDLE letter will take approximately 5 minutes. The PADDLE letter is written and explained to the patient at the bedside by their treating doctor. This explanation will take approximately 10-15 minutes.
Sponsors
HCF Research Foundation
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Participants are eligible for the study if the current hospital admission is due to: 1. Admitted to hospital with one of the following as a primary diagnosis a. A cardiac diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), or heart failure (HF), or atrial fibrillation (AF) b. A respiratory diagnosis of pneumonia, or pulmonary embolus (PE), or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) c. A general medicine diagnosis of pneumonia, or pyelonephritis, or cellulitis d. An endocrine diagnosis of Type I diabetes, or Type II diabetes, or treatment for thyroid cancer or hyponatraemia 2. Age greater than or equal to 18 years of age 3. Able to provide written informed consent
Exclusion criteria
1. Participant has life expectancy of less than 6 months 2. Participant is being discharged to a nursing home or is unable to self-manage activities of daily living (ADLs) 3. At discretion of investigator
Outcome results
None listed