American journal of medical quality : the official journal of the American College of Medical Quality
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Discharge summaries are intended to transfer important clinical information from inpatient to outpatient settings and between hospital admissions. The authors created a point scale that rated summaries in 4 key areas and applied the scale at a community teaching hospital over 3 years. Charts of 150 patients were selected equally from those discharged early and late in the academic year. ⋯ The average of the 3 raters' scores improved 21%, and dictation length decreased 67% after introduction of the template (P < .001). No relationship was found among service intensity (measured as chart weight), dictation length (measured in lines), and quality. Measured by a comprehensive rating scale, the quality of discharge summaries increased with use of a template while their length decreased.