Determining Patient Discharge Criteria in an Outpatient Surgery Setting

ABSTRACT
- DISCHARGE OF AN OUTPATIENT surgical patient to home implies that the patient is clinically stable and capable, to some degree, of self-care. Nurses currently have no formal evidence-based clinical criteria to assist them in determining outpatient surgical patients' readiness for dis-charge to home. Nurses often make discharge decisions based on their education, experience, and personal beliefs.
- THE GOAL of this quality improvement project was to identify specific factors that outpatient surgery nurses consider in assessing readiness of patients for discharge.
- THE RESULTS WERE USED to develop orientation and educational programs for outpatient surgery staff members and were incorporated into a patient discharge assessment checklist.