The purpose of this study was to examine the efficiency and satisfaction of discharge planning in the patients with coronary artery disease. A pretest-posttest cross-sectional design with a descriptive correlation approach is used in this study. Data were collected from July of 2008 to October of 2008. Subjects who were diagnosed as coronary artery disease by a cardiologist and underwent a PTCA (Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty) or a Stent deployment were recruited from a cardiac vascular ward. Research instruments in this study included a demographic sheet and structured questionnaires of satisfaction on discharge planning. Questionnaires were mailed to 170 subjects after discharge planning intervention. Response rates were 36.4% (n=63) and 40.0% (n=68) in the pretest and posttest groups, respectively. There were no significant differences between these two groups in personal attributes. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics including independent t-test, χ2, and paired t-test were used to compare the differences between the pretest and posttest groups on the patient satisfaction, the fourteen days post-discharge readmission, the fourteen days post-discharge with an emergency treatment, and the hospital length of stay (LOS). Results showed that the mean score of patient satisfaction was significantly increased from 2.3 (pretest group) to 2.8(posttest group). The fourteen days post-discharge readmission, the fourteen days post-discharge with an emergency treatment, and the hospital length of stay were significantly reduced in the posttest group. The findings of this study demonstrate positive outcomes in the discharge planning intervation and provide information for the hospital managers to develop other disease discharge planning.
Key words: coronary artery disease, discharge planning,
efficiency, patient satisfaction.