Discharge planning is also interdisciplinary and focuses on returning the patient to their home with optimal outcomes.20 Each day during rounds, care is directed to assist the patient in returning to the home as soon as possible, rather than a skilled nursing facility or nursing home. Medical care is reviewed “to prevent complications secondary to medicines and procedures.”20 Discharge planning, as well as the other aspects of the ACE program, is designed to promote holistic care and recovery for older patients. The ability of the ACE program to meet its goals are examined in multiple studies.
Six articles report on investigation into the ACE program. Four of these report data from randomized control trials (RCTs)and report hospital surveys. and Sample sizes and methodology varied widely among studies. Three RCTs looked at the same sample of 651 patients, and 24 and the remaining RCT looked at a separate sample of 1531 patients.21 Methodology for all 4 RCTs is comparable; all studies used performance of ADLs as their primary indicator.19, 20, 21 and 24 None of these 4 reports were blinded to participants or data collectors, although this was not feasible given the design of the studies.