4Ds: Documenting delirium diagnosis in discharge summary

INTRODUCTION: Hospital discharge is a significant transitional phase with varying levels of needs and risks to be managed as lapses in communication commonly happen between secondary/tertiary and primary care. OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to look at inclusion of delirium diagnosis in discharge summaries based on standards set by: 1. Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) National Standard for Patient Discharge Summary Information 2. NICE Guidelines on Delirium: prevention, diagnosis and management (CG 103) METHODS: All inpatients referred to Liaison Psychiatry from 9(th)July 2019 till 5(th) January 2020 were included, n = 729. Compared discharge summaries diagnoses to the internal Liaison Psychiatry ICD 10 consensus diagnosis and also HIPE coded diagnosis specifically for delirium. RESULTS: Delirium diagnoses and inclusion of delirium-specific information on discharge summary [Table: see text] CONCLUSIONS: Hospital discharge summaries are essentially the main communication link between hospitalists and general practitioners to ensure continuity and future care of patients. Delirium diagnosis is not always recorded in discharge summaries. This is a risk to be managed. Education is vital to ensure awareness, prevention, early recognition and to ensure recording of diagnosis of delirium.