Effective interdepartmental communication is paramount to continuing and improved patient care (Mothiba, Dolama, Lekhuleni, 2008). I have personally witnessed and experienced the results of poor communication between departments and between staff within my department. I have worked at a number of facilities around the country. Each seems to have its own system for communication between departments. And each seems to have its fallacies to one degree or another. Some didn’t work at all and of course, none work if the employees fail to use them.

I worked at a facility where a well-intentioned therapist who had worked at another place that utilized a standard basic informational card with provision for additional information, attempted to institute a similar process in our neonatal intensive care unit. The information recorded on the card would have streamlined hand off report and ensured important information was passed on. Unfortunately, not enough staff saw the value of such a system to use it on a continuing basis.

Three strategies for improvement. I’ve got to think about this for a bit. One that I have seen work is the one just listed. A standard written format with pertinent information and provision for additional data works as long as those involved commit to its use. We use such a system at our facility for patients in our intensive care units. Patients on regular floor care, may, depending on what is happening with their care, have critical data written on a board on a locked room. Only data about therapy, no patient information is listed to avoid violations of  HIPAA regulations.

References

Mothiba, T.M., Dolamo, B. L., Lekhuleni, M. E. (2008). Interdepartmental Communication at a Tertiary Hospital Campus in the Limpopo Province. Curationis 31(4): 39-45