In this episode of the SMFM Podcast, we continue a three-part American Heart Month series highlighting Patient Safety and Quality (PSQI) tools developed to improve cardiovascular outcomes during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Dr. Bart Staat is joined by Dr. Kelly Gibson and Dr. Ralph Burns, authors of the SMFM Checklist for Postpartum Discharge of Women with Hypertensive Disorders. The discussion focuses on how a standardized postpartum checklist can reduce preventable morbidity and mortality by ensuring consistent patient education, supporting home blood pressure monitoring, promoting timely follow-up, and improving transitions to ongoing care.

The episode also explores practical implementation strategies, systems-level considerations, and the associated quality metric designed to help practices measure adherence and impact.

A link to the checklist and quality metric is included in the show notes and is available on the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine website under Clinical Guidance → Patient Safety and Quality.

https://publications.smfm.org/publications/331-society-for-maternal-fetal-medicine-special-statement-checklist/

Disclaimer: "The Public Health System Components: Clinicians who are related to Maternal-Fetal Medicine program is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award to the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) totaling $1,278,000 with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of nor endorsement, by CDC/HHS or the U.S. Government."