Factors Affecting Appropriateness of Interfacility Transfer for Hand Injuries

Transfers of patients with higher acuity injuries to trauma centers have helped improve care since the enactment of Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. However, an unintended consequence is the inappropriate transfer of patients who do not truly require handover of care.

We retrospectively reviewed the records of all patients transferred to our level I trauma center for injuries distal to the ulnohumeral joint between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014; 213 patients were included. We examined the records for appropriateness of transfer based on whether the patient required the care of the receiving hospital's attending surgeon (appropriate transfer) or whether junior-level residents treated the patient alone (inappropriate transfer) and calculated odds ratios. We performed logistic regression to identify factors associated with appropriateness of transfer; these factors included specialist evaluation prior to transfer, age, insurance status, race, injury type, sex, shift time, distance traveled, and median income.

The risk of inappropriate transfers was 68.5% (146/213). Specialist evaluation at the referring hospital was not associated with a lower risk of inappropriate transfers (odds ratio 1.62 [95% CI: 0.48-5.34], P = .383). Only evening shift (15:01 to 23:00) was associated with inappropriate transfers. Amputations and open fractures were associated with appropriate transfers.

Second shift and type of injury (namely, amputations and open fractures) were significant factors to appropriateness of transfer. No significant association was found between specialist evaluation and appropriate transfers. Future studies may focus on finding reasons and aligning incentives to minimize inappropriate transfers and associated systems costs.