SOMEONE ON THE OUTSIDE (SOS): A RESOURCE FOR RECENTLY DISCHARGED CARDIOLOGY PATIENTS

Abstract

Readmissions to hospital are expensive and often preventable. Many initiatives support only high-risk patients following discharge. We questioned whether a direct line to the unit’s charge nurse (CN) might provide a way to offer assistance to recently discharged patients. The purpose of this project was to test the feasibility of a “help-line” for patients after discharge from a cardiology unit. Information about all calls was collected and included type of call, time to resolution, follow-up undertaken and whether readmission or emergency visit was potentially averted. Fourteen calls were received between October 2014 and March 2015. On average, calls were 3 days after discharge (range 0-10 days) and took 16 minutes to resolve (range 5-30 minutes). Calls were categorized as: clinical (e.g., dizziness or shortness of breath) (n = 3), material requested (n = 3), follow-up questions (n = 3) and medication confusion (n = 5). In all cases, the CN was able to resolve the issue. We judged that response to calls averted two emergency visits. The CN described that she knew most of the patients and felt she was able to resolve all issues quickly. Concerns about overwhelming workload arising from the calls were allayed, as only 14 calls were received in 5 months. This pilot study demonstrates that an “SOS line” is a feasible addition to services available to discharged patients. Cardiac nurses in acute care facilities are able to bridge the gap after discharge. Further research into the effectiveness of this service is warranted.