Assessing the sufficiency of patient information transfer from hospitals to psychiatric home-visit nurses: A nationwide cross-sectional survey.

Abstract

Effective information transfer from hospitals to psychiatric home-visit nurses is essential for ensuring continuity of care. However, previous studies have suggested that discharge information is often inadequate, particularly regarding the psychosocial aspects of patient care. This study assessed home-visit nurses' subjective evaluations of the adequacy of patient information provided by hospitals in psychiatric home-visit nursing. A nationwide cross-sectional survey was distributed to 2,000 home-visit nursing agencies across Japan, yielding 482 responses. After excluding one invalid response, 481 responses were analyzed (response rate: 8.0%). The sufficiency of patient information was calculated as the logarithm of the ratio between the information received and the information requested by nurses. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests confirmed that all gaps between the information received and requested were significant (p < 0.001). The information that was least adequately provided included "psychological test results" (mean adequacy score = -0.23, SD = 0.28), "signs of worsening psychiatric symptoms" (mean adequacy score = -0.21, SD = 0.23), and "coping strategies for psychiatric symptoms" (mean adequacy score = -0.21, SD = 0.23). The information that was most adequately provided was "prescription details" (mean adequacy score = -0.07, SD = 0.16) and "diagnosis" (mean adequacy score = -0.09, SD = 0.18). To enhance information transfer, hospitals should review and revise discharge summaries to ensure the inclusion of critical items with low adequacy scores.