• Mandhkani Mahajan, Janine Alida Hogewoning, Jeroen Joseph Antonius Zewald, Margreet Kerkmeer, Mathilde Feitsma, and Daphne Annika van Rijssel.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Reinier de Graaf Hospital, P.O. Box 5011, 2600, GA, Delft, The Netherlands. m.mahajan@rdgg.nl.
• Int J Emerg Med. 2020 Sep 24; 13 (1): 49.

BackgroundPrevious research has demonstrated that patients leaving the emergency department (ED) have poor recall and understanding of their discharge information. The teach-back method is an easy technique that can be used to check, and if necessary correct, inaccurate recall. In our study, we aimed to determine the direct and short-term impact of teach-back as well as feasibility for routine use in the ED.MethodsA prospective cohort study in an urban, non-academic ED was performed which included adult patients who were discharged from the ED with a new medical problem. The control group with the standard discharge was compared to the intervention group using the teach-back method. Recall and comprehension scores were assessed immediately after discharge and 2-4 days afterward by phone, using four standardized questions concerning their diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care, and return precautions.ResultsFour hundred eighty-three patients were included in the study, 239 in the control group, and 244 in the intervention group. Patients receiving teach-back had higher scores on all domains immediately after discharge and on three domains after 2-4 days (6.3% versus 4.5%). After teach-back, the proportion of patients that left the ED with a comprehension deficit declined from 49 to 11.9%. Deficits were most common for return precautions in both groups (41.3% versus 8.1%). Teach-back conversation took 1:39 min, versus an average of 3:11 min for a regular discharge interview.ConclusionTeach-back is an efficient and non-time-consuming method to improve patients' immediate and short-term recall and comprehension of discharge information in the ED.

4 keywords...

hide…