Table 5.
Responses to the survey items according to years of work experience
| Item | Category | 0–10 | 11–20 | >20 | Total | P value |
| 2. The DS is a communication tool … | ||||||
| 2.1 … among physicians. | 1/2 | 303 (98.4%) | 261 (96%) | 454 (98.7%) | 1031 (97.9%) | 0.050* |
| 3/4 | 5 (1.6%) | 11 (4%) | 6 (1.3%) | 22 (2.1%) | ||
| 2.2 … for the information of patients. | 1/2 | 248 (80.5%) | 214 (79.3%) | 293 (64.8%) | 767 (73.5%) | <0.001†‡ |
| 3/4 | 60 (19.5%) | 56 (20.7%) | 159 (35.2%) | 277 (26.5%) | ||
| 2.3 … for all persons authorised by the patient (legal persons, relatives, caregivers). | 1/2 | 201 (68.4%) | 188 (69.4%) | 264 (59.5%) | 664 (65%) | 0.008†‡ |
| 3/4 | 93 (31.6%) | 83 (30.6%) | 180 (40.5%) | 358 (35%) | ||
| 2.4 The DS that is comprehensible for patients leads to less time-consuming questions. | 1/2 | 207 (69.2%) | 193 (73.1%) | 281 (63.6%) | 691 (67.9%) | 0.026‡ |
| 3/4 | 92 (30.8%) | 71 (26.9%) | 161 (36.4%) | 327 (32.1%) | ||
| 2.5 The DS is usually not read by patients. | 1/2 | 157 (56.3%) | 119 (47.6%) | 178 (41.9%) | 460 (47.5%) | 0.001† |
| 3/4 | 122 (43.7%) | 131 (52.4%) | 247 (58.1%) | 508 (52.5%) | ||
| 2.6 The patient needn’t understand the DS, as it is explained by the further treating physicians. | 1/2 | 51 (16.7%) | 62 (23.5%) | 156 (34.6%) | 273 (26.4%) | <0.001†‡ |
| 3/4 | 254 (83.3%) | 202 (76.5%) | 295 (65.4%) | 761 (73.6%) | ||
| 2.7 As part of my education I have attended relevant training courses in the field of communication, such as dealing with patients and relatives. | 1/2 | 151 (50.3%) | 115 (43.7%) | 222 (50.1%) | 494 (48.5%) | 0.196 |
| 3/4 | 149 (49.7%) | 148 (56.3%) | 221 (49.9%) | 524 (51.5%) | ||
| 2.8 In my education as a physician, the structure and content of the DS was an integral part. | 1/2 | 128 (42.5%) | 137 (50.7%) | 241 (53.2%) | 512 (49.4%) | 0.014† |
| 3/4 | 173 (57.5%) | 133 (49.3%) | 212 (46.8%) | 525 (50.6%) | ||
| 2.9 I regularly attend training courses on communication. | 1/2 | 74 (24.3%) | 88 (32.8%) | 167 (36.9%) | 333 (32.1%) | 0.001†‡ |
| 3/4 | 230 (75.7%) | 180 (67.2%) | 286 (63.1%) | 706 (67.9%) | ||
| 3. The following are necessary contents in the DS … | ||||||
| 3.1 … diagnosis. | 1/2 | 304 (100%) | 273 (100%) | 454 (100%) | 1044 (100%) | 1.000 |
| 3/4 | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | ||
| 3.2 … therapy. | 1/2 | 303 (99.7%) | 271 (100%) | 453 (99.6%) | 1040 (99.7%) | 0.794 |
| 3/4 | 1 (0.3%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (0.4%) | 3 (0.3%) | ||
| 3.3 … medical terminology. | 1/2 | 196 (64.9%) | 194 (72.4%) | 321 (72.6%) | 721 (70.4%) | 0.055 |
| 3/4 | 106 (35.1%) | 74 (27.6%) | 121 (27.4%) | 303 (29.6%) | ||
| 3.4 … specific abbreviations. | 1/2 | 58 (19.6%) | 64 (24.1%) | 103 (23.6%) | 227 (22.5%) | 0.347 |
| 3/4 | 238 (80.4%) | 202 (75.9%) | 334 (76.4%) | 782 (77.5%) | ||
| 3.5 … recommendations on further treatment. | 1/2 | 303 (99.7%) | 269 (99.3%) | 453 (99.8%) | 1037 (99.6%) | 0.696 |
| 3/4 | 1 (0.3%) | 2 (0.7%) | 1 (0.2%) | 4 (0.4%) | ||
| 3.6 … prescription of medication. | 1/2 | 300 (99%) | 266 (98.2%) | 444 (98.2%) | 1023 (98.5%) | 0.655 |
| 3/4 | 3 (1%) | 5 (1.8%) | 8 (1.8%) | 16 (1.5%) | ||
| 3.7 … control visits and follow-up appointments. | 1/2 | 299 (99.7%) | 270 (99.3%) | 442 (97.6%) | 1024 (98.7%) | 0.041* |
| 3/4 | 1 (0.3%) | 2 (0.7%) | 11 (2.4%) | 14 (1.3%) | ||
| 3.8 … behavioural recommendations for the patients. | 1/2 | 290 (97.3%) | 254 (94.1%) | 411 (92.6%) | 968 (94.4%) | 0.016†‡ |
| 3/4 | 8 (2.7%) | 16 (5.9%) | 33 (7.4%) | 57 (5.6%) | ||
| 3.9 … therapy recommendations/report from graduated health and nursing staff. | 1/2 | 133 (45.2%) | 124 (48.1%) | 221 (50.6%) | 486 (48.6%) | 0.364 |
| 3/4 | 161 (54.8%) | 134 (51.9%) | 216 (49.4%) | 515 (51.4%) | ||
| 3.10 … therapy recommendations/report from the clinical social workers. | 1/2 | 166 (56.3%) | 134 (51.3%) | 239 (55.1%) | 546 (54.5%) | 0.476 |
| 3/4 | 129 (43.7%) | 127 (48.7%) | 195 (44.9%) | 455 (45.5%) | ||
| 3.11 … therapy recommendations/report from the medical-technical services (eg, dietology, physiotherapy). | 1/2 | 201 (67.9%) | 168 (65.1%) | 302 (69.1%) | 680 (67.9%) | 0.552 |
| 3/4 | 95 (32.1%) | 90 (34.9%) | 135 (30.9%) | 322 (32.1%) | ||
| 3.12 The content of the DS in its current form is sufficient for further treatment. | 1/2 | 234 (79.6%) | 203 (78.1%) | 340 (77.1%) | 787 (78.2%) | 0.724 |
| 3/4 | 60 (20.4%) | 57 (21.9%) | 101 (22.9%) | 220 (21.8%) | ||
| 3.13 The DS in its present form contributes to increase the individual health literacy of patients. | 1/2 | 145 (52.3%) | 129 (52.7%) | 182 (45.3%) | 461 (49.4%) | 0.095 |
| 3/4 | 132 (47.7%) | 116 (47.3%) | 220 (54.7%) | 473 (50.6%) | ||
| 4.1 In future, the DS should contain further procedures and treatment goals in an understandable way, so that patients themselves can contribute to the improvement of their health. | 1/2 | 245 (81.1%) | 224 (84.2%) | 333 (75.2%) | 813 (79.3%) | 0.011‡ |
| 3/4 | 57 (18.9%) | 42 (15.8%) | 110 (24.8%) | 212 (20.7%) | ||
| 4.2 Should the DS be changed in its current form? | 1/2 | 114 (39.3%) | 121 (49%) | 209 (49.6%) | 449 (46.2%) | 0.016† |
| 3/4 | 176 (60.7%) | 126 (51%) | 212 (50.4%) | 522 (53.8%) | ||
Missing data can occur because of non-response and is not explicitly stated; percentages pertain to available responses.
*No pairwise difference remained significant after Bonferroni correction.
†Significant differences (p<0.017) between 0–10 and >20 years.
‡Significant differences (p<0.017) between 11–20 and >20 years.
DS, discharge summary.