Utilization of Quality Improvement Methodology to Standardize Communication of Outside Hospital Transfers in a General Surgery Program.

OBJECTIVE: There is no standardized method of communication regarding the arrival of outside hospital (OSH) transfers at our institution. We utilized quality improvement methodologies to enhance sign-out, benefiting both resident workflow and patient care. DESIGN: A dynamic census log of pending OSH transfers was created. Total number of OSH transfers (with or without prior notification), time to admission orders, and resident self-reported preparedness in receiving/triaging OSH admissions were measured before and after implementation of the census log tool. SETTING: Quaternary referral hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. PARTICIPANTS: The census log was made available to General Surgery residents on receiving surgical teams. After the data collection period, it was made available to all residents in the program. RESULTS: A total of 93 patients were transferred to receiving surgical teams during our 13-week study period. Resident notification of the OSH transfer prior to patient's arrival increased from 44.7% pre- to 70.3% postimplementation of the tool (p = 0.03). When residents received prior notification of pending transfers, time to place admission orders decreased from 81.2 ± 79.9 minutes to 40.4 ± 36.8 minutes (p = 0.0029). Junior residents' self-reported preparedness in admitting an OSH transfer did not significantly differ when they received prior notification versus when they did not. In contrast, senior residents' self-reported higher levels of preparedness in the instances where they received prior notification of a pending transfer. CONCLUSIONS: In light of the recent Clinical Learning Environment Review program set forth by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, trainees are expected to engage in improvement processes as it relates to patient safety and transitions of care. The development and implementation of our tool demonstrate that quality improvement methodologies can be effectively applied to resident workflow challenges, improving both trainee education and patient care.