Handoff Communication between Remote Healthcare Facilities.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare communication
• Patient safety
• Quality improvement

Background:

• Handoffs and transitions of care represent critical junctures in healthcare delivery.
• Inconsistent communication patterns between St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and its affiliated clinics highlighted a need for standardized processes.
• The Affiliate Program Office at St. Jude initiated the development of a novel communication tool to address these gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement a standardized communication tool to improve patient transitions between St. Jude and its affiliated clinics.
• To address barriers such as inconsistent communication and lack of ownership in care transitions.
• To facilitate closed-loop communication between geographically remote healthcare sites.

Main Methods:

• Provider teams utilized flow diagrams to map current communication states during patient transitions.
• Fishbone diagrams were employed to identify key barriers to effective communication.
• A standardized communication bundle was developed and disseminated via secure email, with usage, staff experience, and error rates measured.

Main Results:

• The communication bundle transmission time was under 10 minutes.
• Within three months, the bundle achieved 75% complete usage across three pilot sites (6 out of 8 transitions).
• The implementation was associated with improved staff satisfaction and no adverse events.

Conclusions:

• A standardized, electronically transmitted communication bundle successfully achieved closed-loop communication between remote healthcare sites.
• The pilot study demonstrated the feasibility and initial effectiveness of the tool in enhancing care transitions.
• This approach offers a scalable solution for improving inter-site communication in pediatric oncology networks.