Improving readability of discharge instructions linked to fewer follow-up phone calls

Editor's Note

Making discharge instructions easier to read resulted in fewer phone calls from traumatic injury patients after discharge, finds this study presented October 25 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2017 in San Diego.

A total of 1,006 patients were included in the study, 493 in the preintervention group and 513 in the postintervention group. The number of phone calls per 100 patients was 2.4 times lower in the postintervention group (22 vs 9).

The findings show that patients who understood their discharge instructions were better able to care for themselves and did not need to follow up with as many phone calls to their healthcare providers.

Improving the Readability of Discharge Instructions May Lead to Fewer Follow-Up Phone Calls After Trauma Patients Go Home

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