Improving the quality of inter-hospital transfers

Abstract

This study is unique in that it involved the efforts of several professional groups at eight medical centers to solve a common quality assurance problem. The study used a systematic approach to evaluate and improve the quality of care provided to veterans transferred from one facility to another. The initial survey of personnel identified perceived problems with the transfer process. Both the concurrent and the retrospective focused reviews substantiated these problems. As a result of the study, an inter-hospital transfer form was developed and implemented at eight VA medical centers with plans to expand its use to other facilities. An important benefit of the inter-hospital transfer form is the ability to use it to continuously monitor and improve the quality of inter-hospital transfers. The study was conducted by Medical District No. 1 MEDIPRO. The Medical District Initiated Peer Review Organization is a physician directed system of quality assurance within the Department of Veterans Affairs. In each geographic District, VA medical centers provide physician representatives to a medical peer review board. The MEDIPRO board, with staff support, identifies potential quality issues, designs studies, establishes standards and thresholds, and analyzes and reports study results to the medical centers. The goal of MEDIPRO is to assure and continuously improve the quality of medical care provided in VA medical centers.