Institutions:
In reference to the case scenario, it is quite apparent that discharge planning is the key variable that should be addressed by the RN (Registered Nurse) in planning the discharge for the patient. Essentially, discharge planning usually involves identifying the patient needs and what he/she requires in order to have a safe as well as smooth transition from the hospital to the next care destination. As such, developing an effective and efficient discharge plan for the patient would enable the healthcare provider to identify the needs of the patient and the support required by the patient and come up with the necessary interventions to foster a safe transition to the next care destination.
In addition, developing an appropriate discharge plan would help the RN to determine the most suitable post-hospital care destination for this patient (Stevens, 2015). For instance, the RN would link the patient to an Assisted Living facility that would provide the necessary support to the patient since he currently lives alone. More importantly, ineffective discharge planning is usually the primary cause of communication breakdown between the healthcare provider and the patient especially in regard to medication adherence and lifestyle modification. Thus, developing an effective as well efficient discharge plan would help in solving communication problems by explaining all the discharge instructions in a language that is clearly understandable to the patient as well as the care provider (McHugh & Ma, 2013).
With regard to this, developing an effective and appropriate discharge plan is one of the most pertinent intervention that the nurse can implement in order to foster optimal outcome for this patient. As such, coming up with an efficient discharge plan would help the nurse to select the most appropriate care destination for the patient and provide the necessary support for this patient during his post-hospitalization period. In addition, the discharge plan would enable the nurse to cater for the patient needs such as medication management and emotional care whereby this would help in enhancing the patient’s outcome. Overall, implementing an appropriate discharge plan would help the nurse in making follow-up appointments to monitor the progress of the patients and consequently improve his outcome and further prevent re-hospitalization (McHugh & Ma, 2013).
References
McHugh, M. D., & Ma, C. (2013). Hospital nursing and 30-day readmissions among Medicare patients with heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and pneumonia. Medical care, 51(1), 52.
Stevens, S. (2015). Preventing 30-day Readmissions. Nursing Clinics of North America, 50 (Transformational Tool Kit for Front Line Nurses), 123-137. doi:10.1016/j.cnur.2014.10.010
