Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb 1;37(2):92-95.
doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000002331.

Communication Between Primary Care Pediatricians and the Pediatric Emergency Department

Bradley D Beamon  1 , Lindsay M Cortright, Callie B Pawlowski, Virginia Vasquez-Rios, Dmitry Tumin
Affiliations

Communication Between Primary Care Pediatricians and the Pediatric Emergency Department

Bradley D Beamon et al. Pediatr Emerg Care. .

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to measure the quality of communication from primary care pediatricians (PCPs) to the pediatric emergency department (ED). We also sought to determine whether the quality of this communication affected patient outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients sent from their pediatrician to the pediatric ED during a 4-year period. The quality of communication was classified as no communication, incomplete communication, or complete communication, based on compliance with Joint Commission requirements. Outcome measures included overnight admission, total length of hospital stay, repetition of diagnostic tests, ED revisits, hospital readmissions, and initial follow-up pediatrician visit.

Results: Fifty-five patients were included in the analysis. Communication was complete in 22% of cases, incomplete in 16% of cases, and absent in 62% of cases. Medications and allergies were most often missing. The quality of communication was not associated with any of the prespecified covariates or outcome measures. Chief complaint of respiratory distress and greater severity score were associated with a greater likelihood of hospital admission from the ED.

Conclusions: Our study demonstrates a lack of documented communication between PCPs and a pediatric ED, albeit with no statistically significant impact on patient outcomes. Practices to increase the quality of PCP-ED communication could include standardizing interfacility referrals, maximizing shared electronic health record use between clinical environments, and increased collaboration between ED physicians and PCPs. Further research to investigate subjective outcomes, such as patient expectations or satisfaction associated with PCP-ED communication, may reveal other consequences of incomplete communication.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Rasooly IR, Mullins PM, Alpern ER, et al. US emergency department use by children, 2001–2010. Pediatr Emerg Care . 2014;30:602–607.
    1. Grech CK, Laux MA, Burrows HL, et al. Pediatric emergency department resource utilization among children with primary care clinic contact in the preceding 2 days: a cross-sectional study. J Pediatr . 2017;188:245–51.e2.
    1. Brousseau DC, Nimmer MR, Yunk NL, et al. Nonurgent emergency-department care: analysis of parent and primary physician perspectives. J Pediatr . 2011;127:e375–e381.
    1. Rinderknecht AS, Ho M, Matykiewicz P, et al. Referral to the emergency department by a primary care provider predicts severity of illness. J Pediatr . 2010;126:917–924.
    1. Edvardson S, Dor T. Referral letters to the pediatric emergency department. Harefuah . 2008;147:602–604, 663-4.

LinkOut - more resources