Mild traumatic brain injury in the military: improving the referral/consultation process

Clinical practice inconsistencies in the identification and referral of patients suspected of mild traumatic brain injury have been identified within primary care clinics in a major military medical center.

To determine if the use of an overprinted communication tool would improve the referral/consultation process between identified clinics in one Army medical center.

The consultation/referral process was evaluated following an educational presentation regarding the use of a situation, background, assessment, and recommendation (SBAR) communication form. Data were collected from consultation charts before and after two months of use of the SBAR communication form.

The communication tool improved capture of dates of injury, prior treatment, history of testing, patient education, and request for therapy.

Findings from this project demonstrated that a communication tool such as the TBI-SBAR would be beneficial for use in primary care clinics.