Becker's Hospital Review

168 CMO / CARE DELIVERY 8 Tips for High-Quality Hand-Offs From The Joint Commission By Mackenzie Bean P roper communication between healthcare providers is crucial for ef- fective patient hand-offs. Here are eight tips to ensure high-quality handoffs, according to an infographic from The Joint Commission. 1. Determine critical information that must be communicated face-to-face and in writing. 2. Standardize the tools and methods used to communicate with receivers, including forms, checklists, protocols and patient sum- maries. 3. Don't rely on electronic or paper commu- nications for hand-offs. If face-to-face com- munication is not possible, clinicians should discuss the hand-off by phone or video conference. 4. If patient information is coming from various sources, combine the materials and communicate the information to the receiver all at once. 5. Provide the following information to the receiver: • Sender contact information • An assessment of illness assess- ment, including severity • A summary of events including occurrences leading up to the pa- tient's illness or admission, hospi- tal course through discharge, an ongoing assessment and a plan of care • To-do action list • Contingency plans • Allergy list • Code status • Medication list • Dated laboratory tests • Dated vital signs 6. Conduct the hand-off or sign-out through a face-to-face interaction in a des- ignated location free from interruptions. 7. Involve all team members during the hand-off, including the patient and family, if appropriate. 8. Use EHR records, patient portals, medical apps and telehealth ser- vices to enhance the hand-off pro- cess. n 5 Thoughts From MD Anderson CMO Dr. Karen Lu on Caring for Patients and Employees in Harvey's Aftermath By Mackenzie Bean I nterim CMO Karen Lu, MD, has seen a fair share of natural disasters in her 18 years at Houston-based MD Anderson Cancer Center. "We've experienced several substantial natural disasters, including Hurricane Allison in 2001 and Hurricane Ike in 2008, so we know how to prepare," she says. When Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area Saturday, Aug. 26, MD Anderson had its hur- ricane preparations in place, and on-duty staff members were ready to ride out the storm at the facility. Major flooding in the streets around the hospital forced MD Anderson to close all outpatient services on Aug. 26. Inside the hospital, clinicians provided continuous care for 524 patients during the storm. MD Anderson began treating its sickest out- patients Tuesday, Aug. 29, and resumed che- motherapy, radiation treatments and surgical services that ursday, Aug. 31. e hospital and its 34 outpatient clinics returned to nor- mal operations Wednesday, Sept. 6. Dr. Lu spoke with Becker's Hospital Review about how MD Anderson prepared for Hur- ricane Harvey and coordinated patient care during the storm and its aermath. Here are five sound bites from the conversation. Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. On the flooding: "Aer Hurricane Allison, we put up floodgates around both MD Anderson and the Texas Medical Center, which protected us from Harvey's flooding. e storm came in quickly on Saturday and substantial rainfall fell between midnight and 5 a.m. Sunday. By early Sunday morning, the streets were impassable around the hospital. e facility had some mi- nor flooding, but none of it occurred in patient care areas or research areas." On staffing the hospital: "We had 524 patients who were in the hospital when Harvey hit, along with about 300 family members and 800 staff members who were caring for patients. We had nurses and other employees on site who had been through this before and anticipated the po- tential need of staying over at the hospital aer their Saturday shi." On caring for patients during the storm: "Our workforce has an incredible commitment to our cancer patients. During the worst part of the storm, there were many people already thinking about and coordinating how to get care to our most urgent patients. Employees were calling patients on Saturday, Sunday and Monday to re- schedule appointments, so by the time Tuesday came around, we were back to normal opera- tions and providing the care our patients need- ed. We treated our sickest outpatients Tuesday and Wednesday — these are the patients that need blood and plasma transfusions on a daily basis. By ursday and Friday, we began treat- ing some of our radiation and chemotherapy patients and performed a few surgeries." On MD Anderson employees impacted by the hurricane: "We estimate 35 percent of our workforce had damage to their homes and cars. To help our employees, we've offered child care services and partnered with Ly to provide transportation to and from work for employees who lost their cars in the storm. We also set up our Caring Fund to accept donations for em- ployees affected by the flooding." On recovering from Harvey: "A lot of people have asked us how we've been able to recover so quickly. We really brought a team of teams ap- proach. We trusted and empowered the leaders of our clinics and work units, and shared infor- mation broadly during the storm. Houston is an incredible community and I think our parents feel that spirit at MD Anderson. Our thoughts are now with the communities in the Caribbe- an and Florida as they are affected by Irma." n

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