Coordinated care early discharge of postpartum patients at Irwin Army Community Hospital.

A trial program of early discharge of postpartum patients was instituted at the Fort Riley MEDDAC as part of a coordinated-care initiative. The goals of this program were to increase quality and access to care while containing health costs. A total of 788 bed days valued at $705,260 were made available for use by other patients. Maternal readmission rate was 0.3%; length of stay was decreased from 3.22 days to 1.22 days. Early discharge was made possible through a combination of medical record screening and comprehensive patient education. This study indicates that early discharge provides quality of care and cost effectiveness without adverse outcomes.