An educational measure to significantly increase critical knowledge regarding interfacility patient transfers.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Patient transfers among medical facilities are high-risk situations. Despite this, there is very little training of physicians regarding the medical and legal aspects of transport medicine. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of a one hour, educational intervention on Emergency Medicine (EM) residents' and Critical Care (CC) fellows' knowledge regarding the medical and legal aspects of interfacility patient transfers. METHODS: Prior to the intervention, physician knowledge regarding 12 key concepts in patient transfer was assessed using a pre-test instrument. A one hour, interactive, educational session followed immediately thereafter. Following the intervention, a post-intervention test was given between two and four weeks after delivery. Participants were also asked to describe any prior transportation-medicine-related education, their opinions as they relate to the relevance of the topic, and their comfort levels with patient transfers before and after the intervention. RESULTS: Only a minority of participants had received any formal training in patient transfers prior to the intervention, despite dealing with patient transfers on a frequent, often daily, basis. Both groups improved in several categories on the post-intervention test. They reported improved comfort levels with the medicolegal aspects of interfacility patient transfers after the intervention and felt well-prepared to manage transfers in their daily practice. CONCLUSION: A one hour, educational intervention objectively increased EM and CC physician trainees' understanding of some of the medicolegal aspects of interfacility patient transfers. The study demonstrated a lack of previous training on this important topic and improved levels of comfort with transfers after study participation.