Project ACHIEVE Pilot Study on Care Transitions Reports Results

Patients discharged from the hospital and those who care for them would like hospitals to communicate in a supportive, collaborative and purposeful way, anticipate and explain how they will address their needs, and ensure continuity of care, according to a pilot study by Project ACHIEVE. AHA’s Health Research & Educational Trust is a partner in the project, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Results from a national survey based on the pilot findings are expected soon and will be used to develop patient-centered care strategies that hospitals can implement to improve the hospital discharge process. “Project ACHIEVE represents one of the largest studies ever trying to find out the best approaches to help patients and their family caregivers navigate leaving the hospital and returning home or going to a nursing home,” said Mark Williams, M.D., principal investigator for the study and director of the Center for Health Services Research at the University of Kentucky. For more on the pilot study’s findings, see the article in the May/June issue of Annals of Family Medicine.