Reducing Readmissions Using Teach-Back

Debra Peter, Paula Robinson, Marie Jordan, Susan Lawrence, Krista Casey, Debbie Salas-Lopez
2015 Journal of Nursing Administration  
An interprofessional workgroup in a tertiary Magnet facility convened in late 2009 to examine the discharge process and transitions of care. The team recognized an opportunity to improve patient education. This article describes experiences with implementing a standard work process using teach-back as a method to evaluate learning outcomes that impact patient and family satisfaction, improve handover communication and reduce readmission and length of stay in the hospital setting. The importance
more » ... of quality care transitions, specifically patient discharges, is increasingly recognized. A poorly executed care transition raises the probability of readmission for an individual patient. Published data demonstrates that the national Medicare readmission rate is approximately 20% and approaches 23% for heart failure (Jencks, 2009) . Numerous studies support further exploration of strategies to reduce readmissions (Parker
doi:10.1097/nna.0000000000000155 pmid:25479173 fatcat:3hwsr7bhznhono2jwvtenq4fsm