It's All About the Patient: Improving Communication among Caregivers

In a busy tertiary care L&D that frequently receives High Risk OB patients from smaller Level I and II hospitals, an opportunity was identified to improve communication between sending and receiving sites.  Level III OB nurses found many patients arrived with no notice or information, making it difficult to ensure the continuity and safety of the patient’s care.  Creating a tool that would relay information about the patient’s diagnosis, current condition, recent changes in condition or treatment, possible complications and projected plan of care was deemed necessary.  A standardized “hand-off” communication form was designed and implemented by nurses in April 2007.  The Delaware Maternal Transport Form benefits both sending and receiving facilities.  The sending hospital can provide the essential patient specific information enabling the receiving hospital to provide immediate seamless care upon patient arrival.  The form is completed and faxed by the sending unit to the Perinatal Special Care Unit, followed by a phone call to the charge nurse of the PSCU in order to allow for opportunities to ask and respond to questions.

The Delaware Maternal Transport Form is a DATAS form specific to the High Risk pregnant population, but is generic enough that other hospitals could adapt the form to meet their needs. This form was modeled after the DATAS format; a plan previously developed and used for the medical/surgical patient population that gathered information vital to Demographics, Assessment, Tests, Alerts, Status.  The initial intent was to use the form within the state of Delaware, but its successful use has expanded to neighboring states that send patients to this Level III unit. 

This poster illustrates how one healthcare facility implemented the National Patient Safety Goal #2 (JCAHO) to improve communication among caregivers.  Ultimately, the High Risk OB specific form permits integration of diverse knowledge and offers concise, expert communication across the continuum, thereby establishing it as a positive tool to create partnerships in order to optimize health outcomes.