Table 1.
The work process related to information production and transmission, before and after the introduction of e-messages
| Paper-based transmission of information | Electronic transmission of information (e-messages) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital (sender) | Both nurses and physicians may initiate and start writing the discharge summary, depending on their workload | The nurse must initiate the discharge summary. He/she must first finish the nursing documentation, then send the summary to the physician for completion and approval of the summary |
| The approved summary is given to the executive officer, who sends it to the municipality by mail | The approved summary is sent electronically to the executive officer, who sends it electronically to the municipality | |
| The patient receives a paper copy of the summary at discharge | The patient receives a printout of the discharge summary at discharge | |
| Municipality (recipient) | The patient gives the discharge summary to the nurse on transfer to municipal care services. The nurse who first meets the patient hands over the summary to the nurse in charge | The summary is received electronically by the municipal care services before the patient is transferred |
| The discharge summary is manually archived in the patient record | The summary is received via the EPR system, and is thus automatically placed in the patient's EPR | |
| The person responsible for email in the municipality receives an alert about a new incoming message and must ensure that the responsible nurse/physician gets the information |