Educational Booklets

Improve Communication With Patients And Families

It has been said that a well-informed patient is more likely to become a satisfied patient. When hospitals provide enough information to patients, the patients have greater potential to participate in their care and exercise better judgment concerning their health.

 At Danbury Hospital, a series of new educational booklets created jointly by a team of physicians and nurses with Clinical Resources Management (CRM) and the Department of Nursing are offering patients and their family members just that.

The 11 newly published patient education booklets were launched in June to better facilitate safe and timely care on all patient care units for common diagnoses. Available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, they are provided to patients either before or upon admission so they can understand what is happening to them in nonclinical terms.

The booklets include detailed information about the anticipated hospital stay, specific diagnosis, tests that may be ordered, and recovery guidelines for caesarean section, colon surgery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), gastrointestinal bleeding, heart failure, hysterectomy, ischemic stroke/TIA, myocardial infarction (heart attack), neutropenic fever, pneumonia (community acquired/nosocomial infection), and total hip replacement.

Elizabeth Adler, clinical quality manager in CRM, said the booklets are a natural outgrowth of the work with clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), which are comprehensive tools Danbury Hospital has developed to improve the care of patients with common diagnoses or procedures. The booklets help physician staff working in partnership with nurses, other allied health professionals, and families to help patients plan for their discharge from the hospital — especially to anticipate their future health needs and link them to resources in the community.

“We want patients to understand their conditions and to anticipate certain aspects of care that will be essential to their health and well-being,” Ms Adler said. “The booklets allow patients and families to know what to expect when they receive care here, and to be more informed participants. Better informed patients can make better decisions about their care. For our staff, the CPGs — now enhanced with the patient education booklets — support an environment for better safety, satisfaction, and outcomes.”

Matthew Miller, MD, chief medical officer, said the booklets are not isolated educational tools, but the patient education part of the CPGs that also include clinical pathways, physician orders, discharge instructions, and critical indicators. “The booklets support our evolving program to provide our clinical teams with a comprehensive process that helps them manage quality, satisfaction, and cost with an integrated approach,” Dr Miller said.

Paul Iannini, MD, chairman of the Department of Medicine, said the patient education booklets further support the hospital’s mission to advance the health and well-being of the community in partnership with those it serves.

 “We have developed extensive guidelines not only in medicine, but also in surgery and obstetrics/gynecology, to provide a more consistent approach to treating and managing health conditions in partnership with our patients and their families,” he said.

The patient education booklets are available on the OrderNet system at the hospital, and will soon be posted for public reference on the hospital’s website at www.danburyhospital.org.