Meaning: Transition is a "process or period in which something undergoes a change and passes from one state, stage, form, or activity to another".
Transitional care: Transitional care is the care provided before, during, and after the transfer of an ICU patient to another care unit
Need for transitional care
For safe and efficient movements of patients between different sectors or levels of care within the healthcare system.
For achieving beneficial outcomes for patients.
To ensure minimal disruption and optimal continuity of care for the patient
To reduce the complications, including adverse events, readmission to the ICU and mortality.
To reduce the anxiety of patient and families.
To reduce the emotional problems.
To avoid the communication breakdowns
To plan comprehensive discharge planning
Transitional care strategies
Early discharge planning with the development of standardized discharge policies and care plans
Education of patients about discharge, with repetition of information and promotion of realistic expectations
Steps to encourage patients' independence, with early weaning from equipment and one-to-one nursing care
Steps to ensure direct handover, with appropriate and adequate written documentation, of ICU patients to staff in an intermediate care unit.
Daytime discharge with adequate warning to the intermediate care unit
Steps to involve patients' families in the discharge process and to encourage questions from patients and patients' family members.
Development of written resources.
Visits by ICU personnel to patients in the intermediate care unit after discharge from the ICU.
Improvement in knowledge of the resources of intermediate care units and the community
Efforts to improve reciprocal communication with staff in the intermediate care unit
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