A study Medscape reported on in the Journal of General Internal Medicine claims that residents' views of their duties post-patient discharge vary greatly.
Here's what you should know.
1. The University of Colorado's Eric Young, MD, and his colleagues conducted a study to gauge the perceived responsibilities of internal medicine residents during a hospital discharge.
2. The researchers surveyed 469 residents from nine university and community-based internal medicine programs. They asked each resident to fill out a 24-question, cross-sectional survey.
3. They found that questions regarding the "content or duration of perceived responsibility were not affected by level of training, type of program, reported burnout or career path."
4. The results showed that 26.1 percent of residents said their responsibilities to patients ended at discharge; 19.3 percent felt their responsibilities extended 15 to 30 days post-discharge.
5. When it comes to post-discharge patient care, 57 percent of residents said it was their responsibility to contact primary care providers during the discharge; 21.6 percent said they were responsible for ensuring the patient went to the follow-up.
6. Dr. Young said the results illustrate a lack of industry-wide standards. "While 30-day readmission penalties imply that inpatient providers have some responsibility extending beyond the hospital, consensus guidelines are not proscriptive in defining its duration or content."
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