Page 15 - Risk Reduction Series Effective Systems Part 2
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SVMIC Risk Reduction Series: Effective Systems
Key Points
If you are the consultant/specialist:
• Communicate the results of the consultation to the
referring physician in a timely manner, including an outline
of the specific plan of action you recommend. Verbally
communicate urgent and/or unexpected findings as soon
as possible after the consultation.
• If the patient does not keep the appointment or cancels
without rescheduling, notify the referring physician, and
document this notification.
• Commensurate with the consequence of no treatment,
contact the patient to reschedule.
• If the patient does not reschedule within a reasonable time
frame, any records received from the referring physician
may be destroyed in a manner preserving confidentiality.
Care Transitions
Traditionally, hospital-based care accounts for the highest
costs associated with medical care. A significant percentage
of hospital readmissions are preventable. Many factors
contribute to a patient’s likelihood of being readmitted, including
miscommunications between patients or caregivers and
medical teams regarding medications and other discharge
instructions. A 2016 study indicates communication failures
in U.S. hospitals and medical practices contributed to 1,744
deaths over a 5-year period. Communication failures
7
increase the risk of patient and family dissatisfaction, which
7 The Joint Commission, Sentinel Event Alert “Inadequate hand-off communication”, Issue 58,
September 12, 2017
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