Optimizing the Safety of Inter-Hospital Transfer

Mass General Brigham

Status: Active, not recruiting

Conditions: Inpatient Facililty Diagnoses

Treatments: Other: New Standardized Accept Note; Other: Existing Transfer Patient Admission Process

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05876429

2020P001945

Details and patient eligibility

About

This proposal aims to design, implement and rigorously evaluate a standardized accept note in a population of patients that have high frequency of IHT, including patients transferred to the general medical (GMS), cardiology and oncology services at a large tertiary care hospital. This study will improve scientific knowledge by quantifying the patient safety impact of an intervention to improve communication of essential clinical information during IHT. If shown effective, the results of this study can be used to improve clinical practice by establishing evidence-based communication guidelines for broad dissemination. We will also establish technical feasibility by successfully implementing this tool within our EHR (Epic, Verona, WI), allowing for feasible adoption and dissemination to other institutions with similar EHR capabilities. Lastly, we will address malpractice risk by investigating a strategic intervention aimed at reducing known contributors to patient harm during IHT, a high-risk transition in care that involves transfer of high-acuity patients between providers, settings and systems of care.

Full description

Inter-hospital transfer (IHT), commonly performed to provide patients with more specialized care, involves transfer of patients between providers, settings and systems of care, leaving these patients vulnerable to the risks of discontinuity of care. Standardized communication tools, which have been successful at reducing patient harm among other similar hospital-based care transitions (i.e., intra-hospital patient handoffs), have been under-utilized during IHT to-date, leaving the process largely non-standardized and variable.

The overall goal of this proposal is to optimize patient safety during IHT to GMS, cardiology and oncology services, collectively comprising nearly 50% of all IHT to Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), by leveraging our pilot work to design, implement and rigorously evaluate a standardized communication tool to be used during IHT. We propose the following Specific Aims to accomplish this goal:

Aim 1. Utilize pilot data and stakeholder input to revise the standardized accept note.

Aim 2a. Implement the revised standardized accept note for all patients transferred from another acute care hospital to the GMS, cardiology, and oncology inpatient services at BWH.

Aim 2b. Shift the responsibility of documentation of the accept note from a diffuse group of individual clinicians to a small group of dedicated nurses within the Access Center.

Aim 3. Prospectively evaluate the impact of the intervention on patient safety outcomes, including: clinician-reported medical errors and adverse events, length of stay after transfer, rapid-response or code within 6-hours of transfer, ICU-transfer within 24-hours of transfer, and 3-day and in-hospital mortality.

Enrollment: 1,188 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• source of admission is inpatient transfer from another acute care hospital
• admitted to general medical service
• admitted to cardiology service
• admitted to oncology service
• admitted to ICU service
• age >= 18

Exclusion criteria

• source of admission is other than inpatient transfer
• admitted to service other than listed above
• age < 18

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Sequential Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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1,188 participants in 2 patient groups

Pre-Intervention: Current Transfer Process

Active Comparator group

Description:

Control: Transfer patients are admitted per usual based on existing processes for GMS, Cardiology, and Oncology services. Data collection assesses clinician reported feedback on the logistics for each patient transfer, and issues along the transfer supply chain.

Treatment:

Other: Existing Transfer Patient Admission Process

Post-Intervention: Implementing Standardized Accept Note

Experimental group

Description:

Intervention Arm: After engaging stakeholders and finalizing a standardized accept note for transfer patients, appropriate staff will be trained on the use of the note and the note will be implemented in the transfer patient admission process. Data collection will assess clinician reported feedback on the logistics for each patient transfer, and issues along the transfer supply chain, post-intervention.

Treatment:

Other: New Standardized Accept Note