TRANSFER TOOL BETWEEN PMH AND TGH EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS
A quality improvement project focusing on the creation and usage of a written handover tool to facilitate the goal of improving communication between PMH and TGH ED.
PROJECT SUMMARY
It is generally accepted that one of the highest-risk times in a patient’s journey through the health care system is during handover – any time patient care is transferring from one physician or group to another, there is a risk that crucial information may be lost. This risk increases with the complexity of the patient’s background and presenting complaint. There have been many measures introduced to ameliorate this risk, from the ISBAR communication tool, to signout lists for continuity within in-patient care teams and doctors on call. Many institutions have also introduced handover tools for patients being transferred to other facilities, to ensure that sufficient information is being passed along to the consulting care team.
There is currently no standard in practice for communication during transfer of patients from Princess Margaret Hospital to Toronto General Hospital Emergency Department, which results in variable quantity and quality of information being transferred with the patient. We aim to introduce a handover tool to standardize the amount and type of information passed between PMH and TGH during patient transfers, and to improve patient and clinician satisfaction with the transfer process.
PROJECT LEADS
Joel Yaphe & Scott McGilvray
Jessica Timmings
Taylor Bischoff
Lorraine Lau
Calvin Yeh
Lucas Chartier
Paul Ellis
Sameer Masood
Alexandra Stefan
Firas Al-Rawi
Term of project: December 2018- June 2019