Implementation and testing of interdisciplinary decision support tools to standardize discharge planning.

Improving transitions in care is an international priority. In acute care, this complex process starts upon admission and requires multiple interventions to appropriately transition patients from one setting to the next. Within this multi-step process are two important decision points that warrant standardization and support. Our research teams have developed decision support tools that meet this critical need. The Early Screen for Discharge Planning (ESDP) and the Discharge Decision Support System (D(2)S(2)) bring evidence based, interdisciplinary decision support to two common and important decisions. The purpose of this paper is to share information about "real life" experiences in implementing decision support covering the development and use of the tools, advising about implementation considerations, making suggestions for automating the process, and sharing findings from our recent implementation study.