Digital Outpatient Transfer of Care (DOToC)

Initiative Type
Service Improvement
Status
Deliver
Added
Last updated

Summary

Our increasingly digital delivery of healthcare in Queensland provides many exciting opportunities for improving communication. The integrated electronic Medical Record (ieMR) offers the potential to refine current systems and processes to improve and expedite the production and distribution of outpatient transfer of care (TOC) correspondence which supports GPs as their patients return to community care.

It is proposed that the ieMR be used to produce a templated document which serves as the final clinic note and forms the body of this GP facing correspondence. These letters will also include contact phone numbers, allowing more direct follow-up communication with a senior member of clinic should a GP have follow up concerns or questions regarding the transfer.

This project was initiated by the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH). Advice and support from clinical and administrative staff in PAH’s Surgical Services as well as the General Practice Liaison Office (GPLO) will be critical to the project’s success. The project also became involved in the state-wide Transfer of Care Optimisation stream where it promoted the needs of outpatient areas.

Key dates
Apr 2018
Oct 2018
Implementation sites
With the support of the Metro South HHS, the scoping study delivered in Phase 1 will be developed in partnership with the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH).

Aim

The DOTOC project aims to design a digital solution that provides primary carers with timely, accurate and useful TOC information from hospital outpatient clinics. Phase 1 focusses on delivering a scoping and feasibility study and will make both process improvement and technical enhancement recommendations slated for implementation during Phase 2.

Benefits

  • Reduce the delay in TOC communications from outpatient clinics.
  • Reduce the safety risk to patients relating to delayed TOC communication.
  • Improve patient experience and satisfaction.
  • Decrease unnecessary review appointments in outpatient clinics.
  • Improve and strengthen relationships between hospitals and primary carers.

Background

Since transitioning to the ieMR, the PAH’s Surgical Services division have identified gaps in effective communication from outpatient clinics to patients and primary care. Current workflow processes involve dictation and transcription, and the current secure distribution platforms available to clinicians are limited to inpatient episodes of care. The DOTOC project was proposed to address these technical and process issues and the Healthcare Improvement Unit agreed to fund a Project Officer to progress this work. DOTOC is managed through the Healthcare Innovation and Transformation Excellence Collaboration (HITEC) team.

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Key contact

OCCIO
OCCIO Manager
Office of the Chief Clinical Information Officer
(07) 344 37109
OCCIO@health.qld.gov.au