Health care transition in Germany – standardization of procedures and improvement actions

Claudia Pieper, Izabela Kolankowska
Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University Hospital of Essen, Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Abstract: Previous studies have assessed an increase in the number of people in need and emphasized the advantages of structured discharge management and health care transition. Therefore, our study evaluated the status quo of transition in a major German city after standardization of procedures and implementation of standard forms. Satisfaction with handling of standard forms and improvement of procedures was evaluated. Additionally, patients who had recently been hospitalized were asked about the hospital discharge process. The results show that the recent efforts of standardization helped to improve interface management for health care workers and patients and showed further improvement options.

Keywords: hospital discharge process, standard forms, long-term care, aftercare