Clinical Decision Making for Discharge Recommendations

With the enactment of cost containment processes including the Inpatient Prospective Payment System and the Hospital Readmission Reduction program, hospital systems and post-acute facilities have an increasing focus on providing optimal care to help reduce overall length of stay. A reduction in length of stay in acute and post-acute setting is associated with a decrease in infections and improvement in overall functional status. Due to these systematic changes, there is now an industry wide focus on multidisciplinary teams making collaborative care decisions including recommendations surrounding discharge planning.

Physical and occupational therapists are valuable members of these multidisciplinary teams providing specific and valuable information regarding each patient's functionalstatus and potential for improvement. Moreover, early engagement of the rehabilitation team is directly connected to decreasing overall length of stay in the facility and increasing the probability for discharge to home. The focus of this three-hour course is to present established and emerging evidence to help guide rehabilitation teams to provide evidence-based input regarding discharge disposition. This course will assist the individual therapist in making effective discharge recommendations based on clinical judgement, functional measurements and correlating those findings with input from physicians, nurses, and the case management team to provide a unified recommendation. Upon completion of this course the therapist will demonstrate an increased understanding of the discharge process, improved clinical decision making for next level of care, and streamline interdisciplinary communication.

Highlights

• Expand your capacity to provide an inclusive discharge recommendation gleaned from evidence-based functional assessments
• Impact of early intervention and early mobility on discharge status
• Review existing literature and evidence highlighting the importance of early therapy interventions to reduce length of stay and increase patient's likelihood to return home
• Develop key abilities to make appropriate recommendations to prevent potential delays in discharge

Target Audience: Physical Therapists, Physical Therapist Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants