2023 Discharge Planning & Capacity Management Summit

Care coordination within hospitals and health systems has never been more important as it helps to align priorities of care teams and minimize waste within the system. Delayed discharges are not just an inconvenience; they lead to poorer experiences for patients and prevent hospitals from providing responsive care for patients requiring acute care, and those requiring admission for planned procedures. Poorly managed hospital-wide patient flow and capacity management has critical implications for both patients and providers. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted all aspects of hospital care, and has altered nearly all fundamental practices, including discharge protocols. Discharge planning is an integral part of a hospital’s clinical care. On a daily basis, healthcare providers think carefully about how to help patients safely transition back into life outside of the hospital. Patients need up-to-date information about how to keep themselves and those around them safe, and resources and support to help them recover from illness. In response to COVID-19, within an exceptionally short time frame, hospitals have had to rapidly adapt their discharge planning protocols and have had to continue to adapt as new information comes out. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of discharge planning for patient care and has added a new element of public health in that healthcare providers have to take all possible precautions to ensure that patients are not spreading the virus after they leave the hospital. The conference brings together leaders from hospitals, health systems, home care, health plans and managed care organizations to discuss best practices for improving care coordination, reducing readmissions, preventing avoidable healthcare utilization, and collaborating across the continuum. Network with leading practitioners on discharge planning and learn from the success of others on how to prevent hospital readmissions through comprehensive discharge planning; move patients quickly, efficiently and safely through the hospital system; improve capacity planning and service design; enhance patient care and satisfaction; and much more.