As a result of publicized efforts to improve patient safety
during transfers (eg, the Joint Commission on Accreditation
of Healthcare Organizations’ increased focus on
medication reconciliation and discharge planning and the
National Quality Forum’s examination of performance
measures for posthospitalization care coordination), national
attention to transitional care is increasing.21,35-41
Strategies are needed to determine how best to incorporate
the patient and the family caregiver into efforts to
improve quality during care transitions. With its patientcentered
focus on ensuring that care needs are met, explicit
attention to reconciling disparate medication regimens,
and enhanced continuity across health care settings,
the care transitions intervention appears to hold promise
for addressing the serious quality deficiencies that occur
during care transitions and may reduce the rate of
subsequent hospital readmissions.