Discharge communication for chronic disease patients in three hospitals in India

OBJECTIVES

Poor discharge communication is associated with negative health outcomes in high-income countries. However, quality of discharge communication has received little attention in India and many other low and middle-income countries. Primary Objective To investigate verbal and documented discharge communication for chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) patients. Secondary objective To explore the relationship between quality of discharge communication and health outcomes.

METHODS:
Design Prospective study.
Setting: Three public hospitals in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala states, India.
Participants: 546 chronic NCD (chronic respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease or diabetes) patients. Piloted questionnaires were completed at admission, discharge and Five and eighteen-week follow-up covering health status, health-seeking behaviour and healthcare information exchange practices. Logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between quality of discharge communi...