Interdisciplinary Plan Proposal

Communication plays a crucial role in improving patient care and healthcare organization efficiency (Sharkiya, 2023). In the case of Riverbend Community Hospital, the complications caused by poor communication and failure to coordinate care often lead to prolonged stays in the hospital. Poor communication and lack of coordination in care often lead to extended hospital stays at Riverbend Community Hospital, a situation that can contribute to higher readmission rates. This proposal suggests the use of the Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR) framework and structured interdisciplinary methods as tools for standardized communication that address these challenges. Implementation of the plan will be conducted in the medical-surgical units of the Riverbend Community Hospital; here, delays and confusion are prevalent in the discharge planning process.

Objective

Based on evidence, this interdisciplinary plan is designed to establish a common method of criteria for communicating a discharge. It will involve the SBAR model in addition to a structured interdisciplinary round where all the disciplines will share information regarding patient status and discharge needs within 24 hours of the planned discharge (Shrivastava et al., 2025). The plan seeks to improve the sharing of information between nurses, physicians, and case managers. Overall, this approach can help to reduce patient care costs and increase the efficiency of care delivery, while also contributing to better patient outcomes.

Questions and Predictions

Will integrating standardized SBAR discharge huddles increase staff workload?

It can add to the workload by 5-10% initially but will reduce once it becomes an intuitive routine, and the team’s efficiency will enhance.

Will this intervention enhance communication among interdisciplinary team members?

Use of the SBAR format will be a challenge for some staff in the beginning, but once mastered, communication between staff will be more organized and clearer. This will help to prevent miscommunication, expedite decision-making, and ultimately facilitate the effective coordination of patient care.

Will fewer discharge delays occur for patients when collaboration routines are established?

Delays will be minimised due to the structured communication and coordinated planning that will take place – allowing the team to tackle barriers at an earlier and more effective stage. In fact, it is expected that the journey to discharge will be streamlined as there won’t be a need to explain things in the last hour of discharge.

Will cost savings to the hospital be noticeable over time?

Yes. Though there are small implementation costs, the reduction in readmissions and delays will probably yield considerable long-term savings.

Will team members feel more confident and supported in their roles?

Better communication, collaboration in decision-making, and better expectations will likely result in better staff confidence and help to create a more positive work culture.

Change Theory and Leadership Strategy

The theory of change that will be used to facilitate this plan is Lewin Change Management Theory, which involves unfreezing, moving, and refreezing (Stanz et al., 2021). In Riverbend Regional Hospital, the implementation of standardized communication protocols is supported by the use of Lewin’s Change Management Theory, which gives an established step-by-step process for change. The unfreezing stage will include an overview of current communication problems and how this impacts patients’ outcomes. During the change phase, the hospital will implement SBAR training and structured interdisciplinary rounds, highlighting their role in enhancing workflow. In the refreeze phase, the hospital will incorporate these communication strategies into their regular routines and provide ongoing reinforcement and encouragement to those who practice them (Ghosh et al., 2021). In general, the model is able to facilitate changes in communication in the hospital to become better and reduce resistance.

Transformational leadership is the most probable leadership style that will help in supporting the plan. This type of leadership will help motivate nurses, physicians, and therapists to get on board with the communication strategy because they won’t feel like they’re being ordered to do anything (Ystaas et al., 2023). Transformational leadership increases cooperation and reduces role conflict, and encourages responsibility in interdisciplinary situations. In the Riverbend Regional Hospital environment, transformational leadership will help the workers come to see communication as an added burden rather than a hindrance to patient safety.

Team Collaboration Strategy

This plan will be achieved through the model of collaboration, which is communication among the nursing staff, physicians, case management, and therapy staff. Nurse managers will monitor team effectiveness and give timely feedback where necessary to allow the SBAR model to be consistently used and interdisciplinary rounds (Coolen et al., 2020) to be active. The physicians will give clinical discharge orders and answer interdisciplinary questions within a day. Exchange of all information will be electronic and verbal through brief daily huddles and a standardized discharge worksheet.

The optimal collaborative practice is a systematic, regular conversation, which is helped by mutual esteem and joint responsibility. Interdisciplinary teams that are successful are proactive in their communication and also in their discussions. Interprofessional collaboration with the aid of standardized tools helps to minimize confusion and avoid omissions, as well as makes the discharge planning process safer and more efficient (Zanetoni et al., 2023). Such a team approach would work for Riverbend Regional Hospital because the members of the team already interact from time to time, making things go wrong at the last minute. With this plan, communication becomes predictable and a focus on performance, allowing the team to achieve success.

Required Organizational Resources

The primary staffing needs will be for the presence of nurses, doctors, case managers, and therapists to provide short-duration structured updates (Apaydin et al., 2022). New staff members won’t be required as the scheme will be using current resources. The time cost will be around 10 minutes per patient per day. This is equivalent to 5 hours per week of shared staff time for a 30-patient unit. This time is estimated to be affordable for the organization at $350 – $450 per week depending on the staffing rates. The plan will also utilize a consistent SBAR discharge documentation form. There is virtually no printing cost for this, $25 to $40 per month.

The other resources, like software, etc., are already available within the hospital; thus, they do not incur direct costs. The biggest cost consequence of not having the plan in place is that patients are continually being readmitted, lengths of stay are longer, resources are wasted, patient outcomes are worse, and staff morale is lower. This will mean that the facility is losing about $9,000-$15,000 in reimbursement and utilization. Currently, the communication problem could also reduce employee satisfaction and retention, causing companies to need to recruit and train employees at a high cost (Vries et al., 2023).

Conclusion

The proposal of a plan outlines a well-organized and realistic plan to enhance interdisciplinary communication in the discharge process. The plan has a clear objective, an evidence-based leadership strategy, a clear structure of collaboration, and reasonable resource demands, which make the discharge safer and improve teamwork. Implementing it will reduce readmissions and help to optimize patient outcomes.