Table 5.

Key themes from patient interviews and clinician focus groups about patient-centered discharge toolkit components.

Theme		Description	Quote
Checklist and video
	Valuable for patients	The checklist and video increased understanding of self-care needs and follow-up plans and promoted patient engagement and empowerment in the discharge process.	“I may think of questions I didn’t really have. Definitely worth it. It actually makes you think.” [Patient] “[The checklist] made the patient feel like a more active participant [in] their care…” [Clinician]
	Patient utility dependent on the timing of administration	The checklist and video were most useful when administered close to discharge but before a detailed discussion of discharge preparation by a care team member.	“Well, it was a little unclear given that we’re not about to leave. It’s hard to report on the process because it hasn’t actually happened yet.” [Patient]
Safety dashboard
	Low awareness, variable workflow	Although clinicians were generally aware, checklist answers were variably viewed on the safety dashboard. Reinforcement and reminders to use the safety dashboard to review patient-reported discharge concerns were variable. The workflow for entering and updating EDDa was inconsistent and included both clinical and nonclinical staff.	“[Discharge checklist responses] on the dashboard?... Did not know that.” [Clinician] “When it first rolled out there was a lot of information about it and then it just dropped off, and then the usage dropped off…” [Clinician] “[EDD] not really my workflow…I mean we’ll put in [the EDD], and it’ll get changed by a unit coordinator on a different pod.” [Clinician]
	Lack of optimization	Discharge column flag logic was often misinterpreted by different clinicians. Summarized checklist responses displayed in safety dashboard were too broad and nonspecific. Clinicians could not quickly access the entire checklist.	“The senior resident did not know really, what green [dashboard flags] meant...are [the patients] ready to be discharged?” [Clinician] “I would look at [the safety dashboard] sometimes and wonder what [the patient] clicked off [on the checklist], but sometimes I couldn’t tell exactly what they had questions about.” [Clinician]
	Inconsistent leadership	Usage was dependent on senior-level clinician leadership (attending or senior resident).	“…when the attendings were into it we were all into it for that week.” [Clinician]

^aEDD: expected discharge date.