Abstract
Efficient and safe transition from the hospital to the community setting remains a
priority in health care. Providers face mounting pressure of both timely discharges
and minimizing readmissions, because these factor have an impact on provider reimbursement.
Traditionally in academic medical centers, rotating teams of resident physicians have
been responsible for discharging inpatients. The acute care pediatric nurse practitioner
(PNP), when discharging patients, may arrange follow-up care, prescribe medications,
and sign discharge orders, as the resident physician does. Additionally, the PNP is
positioned to provide continuity of care and provide detailed discharge teaching and
care coordination. The goal of this article is to review the literature pertaining
to the nurse practitioner role in discharge facilitation and describe the creation
and impact of an innovative nurse practitioner discharge coordinator role at a large
urban pediatric medical center where improved discharge times were achieved.
Key Words
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Biography
Kelly Dunn, Inpatient Medicine Nurse Practitioner, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA.
Biography
Jayne Rogers, Inpatient Medicine Director of Nursing, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 07, 2015
Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
