As of March 21, 2025, MGH鈥檚 main entrance on Coxwell Avenue is closed as the next phase of our redevelopment project begins. Patients and visitors can use the new temporary main entrance on Sammon Avenue between Coxwell Avenue and Knight Street. View our campus map.
By Atifa Hamir
When Lindsay Siple joined Michael 九游体育 (MGH), Toronto East Health Network, as the patient and family education specialist in early 2019, she did not anticipate how quickly her work on Patient Oriented Discharge Summary (PODS) would improve the patient experience for individuals transitioning home from hospital after surgery.
The key to success? Co-designing care practices with patients 鈥� after all, they are the experts of their own care.
PODS, originally developed by the University Health Network, is a research-based tool that aims to support patients in their transition from hospital to home, wherever home may be. After learning 50 per cent of patients who had surgery didn鈥檛 get enough information before leaving the hospital, MGH used the PODS framework to build patient and staff capacity, with the goal of improving patient experience and closing any gaps in knowledge.
鈥淚 have a background in knowledge translation and I鈥檝e had the chance to work for similar projects, but I鈥檝e never been able to actually see the impact my work has on such a tangible level,鈥� says Lindsay. 鈥淲ith PODS, I see patients leaving the hospital more confident in their ability to take care of themselves and comfortable with the knowledge they have. It makes my work so rewarding.鈥�
Using the existing PODS framework, Lindsay and her colleagues rolled out a three-part project entitled Getting it Right: Partnering with Patients and Families to Improve the Journey Home using PODS (Patient Oriented Discharge Summary). The project鈥檚 three elements ensure patients receive the information and support they need before transitioning home. The elements include:
The team partnered with more than 150 patients and families through the entire process, from identifying knowledge gaps to creating education materials. Partners came from all over the hospital including the and patients in hospital recovering from surgery.
鈥淭he PODS initiative looks at hospital discharge from the patient鈥檚 point of view; what do I need to know once I get home,鈥� says Lynn Koza, a PEP member who assisted with the project. 鈥淭he phrase 鈥榩atient-centred care鈥� is easy to say, but much more difficult to actually demonstrate. Recalling my own experience many years ago as a patient undergoing traumatic surgery, my mind was too scattered to clearly understand it all at the time. Looking back, I feel I was discharged without an adequate amount of information and support. Participating in this PODS project was my way of helping to make things better for future patients.鈥�
For Lindsay, the project exemplified a certain saying that鈥檚 important to her.
鈥淎s the saying goes, 鈥楴othing about me, without me鈥�. We can鈥檛 make something for our patients without knowing what they want,鈥� says Lindsay. 鈥淚ncluding them in the process meant that we were able to modify and tailor this tool in a way that would work best for them.鈥�
Since the project鈥檚 implementation, staff have noted an increase in patient satisfaction amongst patients using PODS, with an increase of 36 per cent of patients who agreed they definitely had enough information about what to do if they were worried about their health at home and an increase of 51 per cent of patients who would recommend the hospital to their family and friends. Based on these successes, the team has already started to expand the project into other areas of the hospital.
鈥淥ur vision is to create health at the hospital, but as healthcare providers I think we all hope that this extends past our doors and continues at home,鈥� says Lindsay. 鈥淚 hope that through this project, we are able to change the way our providers are having conversations with patients, ensuring that no matter why our patients are here, they have learned how to better care for themselves and their loved ones.鈥�