A new discharge summary for patients leaving hospital has been introduced in Gippsland in response to concerns from doctors with the previous format.
A cohort of Gippsland general practitioners contributed to improvements to the format of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) patient discharge summaries, ultimately to help make a patient’s discharge from hospital to their doctor for ongoing care a seamless process.
Gippsland Primary Health Network and the Gippsland Health Alliance (GHA) launched the Discharge Summary Format Improvement Project in late 2022 to address concerns and after 12 months of workshops and engagement, the new format went live earlier in November.
Gippsland PHN Acting Chief Executive, Angela Jacob, said those involved in the project hoped the changes to the format would benefit Gippsland patients and doctors by improving communication channels and making a patient’s discharge from the hospital to their doctor for ongoing care a smooth transition.
