Interdisciplinary collaboration and discharge planning communication for elders

The effects of personal characteristics and perceptions of interdisciplinary collaboration on discharge planning communication were examined for nurses, physicians, and social workers in two hospitals. The model for the study explained 61.7% of the variance in discharge planning communication for nurses. For all 142 health professionals, communication openness with social workers, problem solving between nurses and physicians, and collaboration with social workers were important to discharge planning communication. For nurses, communication satisfaction with patients and families also was important. Effective discharge planning communication (DPC)-follow-up care information that is timely, accurate, and complete-is a distinguishing feature of successful organizations in heavily managed-care environments. Containing costs and ensuring optimal patient outcomes depend greatly on the interdisciplinary collaboration activities of nurses, physicians, and social workers in communicating plans for elderly patients' discharges from the hospital. Nursing administrators and other healthcare managers want to ensure that health professionals communicate effectively so that patients recover successfully after discharge.