Improving Communications Between ED and Hospitalist Physicians, Viewpoints from Both Perspectives

Conclusion—documenting plan and planning, if needed, to reconnect. A bedside handoff often would be ideal, with a discussion of the next steps. They discussed that burnout can be an issue resulting in poor communication, with 60% of ED physicians and 52% of hospitalist physicians reporting burnout.  Three pillars were noted to support professionals’ intrinsic motivation and psychological well-being—autonomy, competence, and relatedness. These pillars are often an important part of the perceived conflict between ED physicians and hospitalists.  Word clouds were presented as related to ED patient experiences that showed the doctor was an important factor when there were neutral or negative reviews. Points of conflict between the ED and hospitalists were addressed through case examples acted out through phone-call scenarios. Does this patient need to be admitted? Is this patient ready to be admitted? Is the ward the best or safest place to admit? Is medicine the right or appropriate service? Strategies for resolving the conflict of whether the patient needs admission included hospitalist consults. A hospitalist evaluates the patient in the ED and helps with care coordination and the decision to admit. Up to 10% of patients referred to admission are discharged. This structure could be through admission coordinators or a 24-hour hospitalist in the ED. ED observation units are other solutions, with shorter observation lengths of stay (11.9 hours versus 35.6 hours), lower c...
Source: The Hospitalist - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Career Employees Leadership Practice Management Quality Improvement Source Type: research