Paper Title
Analysis of Time Taken For the Discharge Process in a Selected Tertiary Care Hospital
Abstract
Time taken for the completion of discharge process is an important indicator of quality of care. As per NABH, the
time taken for completion of the discharge process should not exceed 180 minutes. Discharge process is the last stage of the
patient journey in the hospital and is more likely to be remembered by the patient. So delay in the discharge process can be
depressing to the patients and also increases the pressure on hospital beds. The present study was conducted in M.S Ramaiah
hospital to analyze the break up time taken for discharge and evaluate the level of patient satisfaction for the discharge
process. The total time taken for the discharge process was broken up into time taken for discharge summary writing,
discharge summary completion, billing completion and patient to leave the ward. The break up time was recorded using a
format which was distributed in all the wards. A validated (Cronbach’s alpha-0.8) questionnaire was used to record the
patient impression and satisfaction for the discharge process in the hospital. The data was analyzed using SPSS through
Correlation, linear regression analysis and Chi Square test. Time taken for billing completion contributed the most to the
total time taken for discharge followed by time taken for discharge summary writing. Most of the patients rated their
discharge process experience as average – below average and opined that the discharge process in the hospital was not well
organized. Based on the findings of the study, Adequate staffing, providing training in communication skills to thestaff, were
some recommendations given to improve the time taken for Discharge Process
Key words- Break Up Time, Billing Completion, Category Of The Patient, Patient Satisfaction, Time Taken For The
Discharge Process.