Unintelligible text or codes in discharge summaries is a threat to patient safety – a nationwide survey

Background Follow-up by the general practitioner after the patient’s discharge from hospital is important for patient safety and reduces the risk of readmission to hospital. Hence it is important that discharge summaries provide effective discharge communication to general practice. Aim To investigate whether general practitioners perceive incomprehensible text elements in discharge summaries as a potential threat to patient safety. Design & setting Nationwide survey among a representative sample of Danish GPs. Method A questionnaire was prepared for GPs based on background material, focus group interviews and discussions with relevant professionals. It was subsequently pilot tested by fellow researchers and GPs and revised prior to the presently reported survey. Results This study reveals that most general practitioners assess that incomprehensible text or codes in discharge summaries pose a threat to patient safety. Most GPs find these summaries often contain such text or codes, raising concerns about potentially missing critical information. Conclusion The survey reveals that most GPs find that the discharge summaries occasionally contain incomprehensible text or codes, which raises concerns about missing critical information which may pose a threat to patient safety.