Transition from Inpatient to Outpatient: How to Reduce Risk

Good communication between hospitalists and primary care physicians at the time of discharge is critical to patient safety and to the reduction of risk. Historically, this communication has been “one-way” in the form of a discharge summary. Studies have shown that "[F]ollowing hospital discharges nearly half (49 percent) of hospitalized patients experience at least one medical error in medication continuity, diagnostic workup, or test follow-up."