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Care coordination is essential for patients, but often difficult to manage given the time needed to provide effective discharge instructions

7 recommendations to improve care coordination

1. Review new and changed medications prior to discharge. Here's a helpful strategy:

2. Develop a standardized discharge process. Use these two strategies:

3. Ensure that patients and their caregivers receive effective education. Here are 2 strategies:

4. Identify patients who may have social or medical needs that impede their ability to access follow-up care. 4 strategies to use:

5. Conduct outreach to patients who have been discharged recently. Here are 2 strategies:

6. Follow-up on test results that are pending at discharge.

Develop a process to follow-up on test results that are pending at discharge (e.g. follow up nurses) to ensure they are reviewed and communicated to the patient. Utilize electronic tools to set up prompts, and include a list of pending test results in discharge notes for follow-up.

7. Use digital tools to document information.