Improving developmental screening documentation and referral completion.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Early identification of developmental delays is crucial for improving outcomes in young children.
• Effective screening processes necessitate referral completion and documentation in medical records.
• Current practices often lack robust follow-up for abnormal developmental screening results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance provider documentation of actions following abnormal developmental screening.
• To increase referrals to Early Intervention (State Part C) services.
• To improve the overall effectiveness of developmental screening processes in primary care.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of an electronic medical record template.
• Utilizing monthly clinical informatics reporting for tracking.
• Introducing a phone follow-up system for abnormal screening results.

Main Results:

• Screening identified 382 (15%) children with abnormal results out of 2610 screened.
• Phone follow-up increased community referrals to 50% (43% to Early Intervention) versus 20% (13% to EI) with template alone.
• Combined strategies improved provider documentation of Early Intervention outcomes to 31% from 15%.

Conclusions:

• Integrating screening templates, informatics, and phone follow-up significantly enhances developmental screening outcomes.
• These strategies improve referral rates, evaluation completion, and documentation of Early Intervention services.
• The implemented strategies are effective for pediatric primary care to ensure timely access to services for at-risk children.