Reducing Harm Post-Discharge: Interventions and Equity in Home and Transitional Safety

Transitions of care, particularly the period from hospital discharge to home or community settings, represent a critical juncture in patient safety where adverse events, medication errors, and gaps in care commonly occur. Despite advancements in acute care, studies consistently show that preventable harm, such as medication discrepancies, missed test result follow-ups, and inadequate communication, remains prevalent after patients leave the hospital. The complex and adaptive nature of healthcare systems including increasing complexity of care regimens, use of remote monitoring tools, and reliance on informal caregiving have further highlighted the vulnerabilities that exist outside traditional healthcare settings. These challenges are compounded for populations experiencing health disparities, with research underscoring inequities in access to transitional support and post-discharge resources.

This Research Topic aims to advance both the science and practice of intervention and measurement strategies that can safely bridge patients’ transitions from inpatient to community or home care. The central goal is to identify, evaluate, and disseminate effective models and tools that reduce harm during this vulnerable period, with an emphasis on approaches that are systems-based, scalable, pragmatic, and responsive to diverse patient needs. Among its objectives, the topic seeks to foster deeper understanding of which interventions produce measurable improvements in reducing adverse events, how harm can best be monitored after discharge, and which communication and coordination strategies most effectively address risk in both routine and high-risk populations.

To gather further insights in this important area, we welcome articles focused on robust clinical trials, implementation studies, cohort analyses, and validated measurement methodologies relating to post-discharge care. We particularly encourage submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Medication reconciliation and post-discharge medication harm
• Test result follow-up and missed follow-up after discharge
• Home care safety hazards and caregiver burden
• Remote monitoring safety (false alarms, escalation pathways)
• Patient-facing tools and communication interventions
• Equity and access in transitional safety interventions
• Measuring harm in home/community settings
• Hospital–community interface and coordination models

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Transition, Discharge, Safety, Reconciliation, Coordination, Monitoring, Caregiving, Equity, Communication, Measurement

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.