Optimising acute non-critical inter-hospital transfers: A review of evidence, practice and patient perspectives

INTRODUCTION

Patients who present to hospital with an acute non-critical illness or injury, which is considered outside the capability framework of that hospital to treat, will require inter-hospital transfer (IHT) to a hospital with a higher level of capability for that condition. Delays in IHT can negatively impact patient care and patient outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

To review and synthesis academic evidence, practitioner insights and patient perspectives on ways to improve IHT from regional to metro hospitals.

DESIGN

A rapid review methodology identified one review and 14 primary studies. Twelve practitioner interviews identified insights into practice and implementation, and the patient perspectives were explored through a citizen panel with 15 participants.

FINDINGS

The rapid review found evidence relating to clinician and patient decision factors, protocols, communication practices and telemedicine. Practitioner interviews revealed challenges in making the initial decision, determining appropriate destinations and dealing with pushback. Adequate support and communication were raised as important to improve IHT. The citizen panel found that the main concern with IHT was delays. Citizen panel participants suggested dedicated transfer teams, education and information transfer systems to improve IHT.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Common challenges in IHT include making the initial decision to transfer and communicating with other health services and patients and families. In identifying the appropriateness of transferring acute non-critical patients, clear and effective communication is central to appropriate and timely IHT; this evidence review indicates that education, protocols and information management could make IHT processes smoother.

Evaluation of Orthopaedics and Traumatology Patients Referred From a Tertiary Hospital

Background This study aims to determine the rate of interhospital transfer, transfer diagnoses, where they were referred, and the reasons for the transfer of patients who presented to the emergency department and requested orthopaedic and traumatology consultations and to evaluate measures that may be effective in reducing the number of referrals for a more effective health service provision as a result of this information. Material and methods In this descriptive study, 59 patients were transferred to the emergency department of our hospital between January 1, 2019, and January 1, 2022, for whom orthopaedic and traumatology consultations were requested and for whom the orthopaedic physician requested transfer (training and research hospitals, university hospitals and private hospitals), and they were retrospectively evaluated. Results The ages of the study participants ranged from 1 to 91 years, with a mean age of 39.8 ± 20.9 years. Therefore, the majority of referred patients were male and Turkish citizens aged 18-65 years; there were no forensic cases; they were evaluated in the yellow area as a result of triage; and most of the transfers were from training and research hospitals and university hospitals, which are tertiary health institutions. On categorising patients based on their transfer diagnoses, it was found that patients with subtotal amputation of the finger were the most common among the referred patients. Conclusion To reduce the number of referrals, it is recommended to increase the standards in assistant training, especially in pelvis, acetabulum, and hand surgeries. It is also recommended to optimise material supply and skilled labour distribution.

Influence of Hospital Characteristics on Hospital Transfer Destinations for Patients With Stroke

BACKGROUND

Patients with stroke are frequently transferred between hospitals. This may have implications on the quality of care received by patients; however, it is not well understood how the characteristics of sending and receiving hospitals affect the likelihood of a transfer event. Our objective was to identify hospital characteristics associated with sending and receiving patients with stroke.

METHODS

Using a comprehensive statewide administrative dataset, including all 78 Massachusetts hospitals, we identified all transfers of patients with ischemic stroke between October 2007 and September 2015 for this observational study. Hospital variables included reputation (US News and World Report ranking), capability (stroke center status, annual stroke volume, and trauma center designation), and institutional affiliation. We included network variables to control for the structure of hospital-to-hospital transfers. We used relational event modeling to account for complex temporal and relational dependencies associated with transfers. This method decomposes a series of patient transfers into a sequence of decisions characterized by transfer initiations and destinations, modeling them using a discrete-choice framework.

RESULTS

Among 73 114 ischemic stroke admissions there were 7189 (9.8%) transfers during the study period. After accounting for travel time between hospitals and structural network characteristics, factors associated with increased likelihood of being a receiving hospital (in descending order of relative effect size) included shared hospital affiliation (5.8× higher), teaching hospital status (4.2× higher), stroke center status (4.3× and 3.8× higher when of the same or higher status), and hospitals of the same or higher reputational ranking (1.5× higher).

CONCLUSIONS

After accounting for distance and structural network characteristics, in descending order of importance, shared hospital affiliation, hospital capabilities, and hospital reputation were important factor in determining transfer destination of patients with stroke. This study provides a starting point for future research exploring how relational coordination between hospitals may ensure optimized allocation of patients with stroke for maximal patient benefit.

Factors influencing interhospital transfer delays in emergency general surgery: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

BACKGROUND

Emergency general surgery is an emerging public health issue globally, with substantial healthcare burden. Interhospital transfer of critically unwell surgical patients has been the mainstay of bridging gaps in surgical coverage in regional and rural locations, despite evidence of greater morbidity and mortality. Delays in transfer invariably occurs and compounds the situation. Our aim was to examine the factors influencing interhospital transfer delays in emergency general surgical patients.

METHODS

A systematic search of PubMED and EmBase, was performed by two researchers from 2020 to 23rd Feb 2021, for English articles related to interhospital transfer delays in emergency general surgical patients, with an age of >16. Articles were critically appraised and data were extracted into a pre-specified data extraction form. No data was suitable for statistical analysis and a narrative synthesis was performed instead.

RESULTS

Six relevant articles were identified from the search. All studies were retrospective cohort studies with moderate to high risk of bias. Lack of consultant surgeon input, after hours transfer, need for intensive care bed and poor transfer documentation may have a role in interhospital transfer delays. Patients with public health insurance, multiple comorbidities and non-emergency medical conditions experience longer transfer request time and may be at risk of precipitating interhospital transfer delays. Transfer delays are seen in transfers over longer distances.

CONCLUSION

There is a paucity of knowledge on what and how factors influence interhospital transfer delays in emergency general surgical patients. Well-designed prospective cohort studies are required to bridge this knowledge gap.

The importance of the partnership between the public and private healthcare institutions to improve interhospital patient transfers

Purpose

The purpose of this study/paper is to identify the importance of the partnership between the public and private health-care institutions to improve interhospital patient transfers. Scientific research and statistical data show the increased number of interhospital transportation services; therefore, timely and qualified patient transportation between different health-care institutions must be considered, the activity that directly and significantly impacts the patient’s health status and overall quality of the health-care services. The successful patient transportation from the smaller hospitals to the health-care institutions with advanced intensive care or urgent care units can be enhanced through the partnership between private and public health-care institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology included quantitative method, statistical data analysis and theoretical data generalization. Both primary and secondary data were collected and analyzed during the research. Expert quantification was performed using the survey research method. The survey was conducted in Lithuania. The respondents were selected to be the general managers of the health-care and urgent care institutions, the chief doctors of the reanimation and intensive care department also the chief doctors of the emergency department.

Findings

Because of the centralization and regionalization of health-care services, the number of patients transferred between hospitals by the emergency medical services (EMS) and personal health-care institutions has increased. University hospitals are not sufficiently prepared to accept an increasing flow of patients in accordance with the Ministry of Health orders. Not all regional or district hospitals have the right to provide such assistance, which increases transportation time and costs as well as requires additional human resources. The five EMS categories could be used to improve the patient transfer between different levels of health-care institutions. To increase partnership between private and public health-care organizations, incentives should be provided for the development of private health-care organizations, as well as encouraging actions should be taken to increase the demand for private health-care services by Lithuanian patients.

Practical implications

Five EMS categories identified in this paper could be used to ensure a smooth mechanism for the patient transfer between different levels of the personal health-care institutions. The proposed categories should also be used in the pre-stationary emergency phase (for reducing the interhospital patient transportation amount).

Social implications

Properly organized secondary and tertiary interhospital patient transfers influence the availability and quality of the EMS and reduce inequalities in the provided services and social exclusion.

Originality/value

This paper presents the classification of the interhospital transfer issues, determines the main reasons for the patient interhospital transfer, creates the model for the EMS patient process flows and defines five EMS categories for the assessment of patient conditions. Therefore, the research conducted and the results obtained have both theoretical and social-practical value.

Proactive review by the emergency department before inter-hospital transfer (the PREVENT study)

OBJECTIVES

To determine the population of patients where patient transfer may be prevented by assessment of a senior ED registrar at the referring hospital.

METHODS

Patients transferred from Caulfield Hospital, specialising in community services, rehabilitation, aged care and aged mental health to The Alfred Emergency and Trauma Centre, an adult major referral centre within the same clinical network were identified from 1 July 2016 to 31 December 2016. Medical records were reviewed independently by two clinicians to determine preventability of transfer and whether attendance by a senior ED registrar could have prevented the transfer.

RESULTS

There were 221 patients included with a mean age of 73.6(15.1) years. The median time spent in the ED was 4 h (interquartile range 2-8) and 197 (89.1%) were admitted. There were 107 (48.6%) transfers deemed preventable or potentially preventable, with 104 preventable by attendance of a senior ED registrar. The most common indication for transfer was acute trauma (n = 55; 24.9%), and the odds of a case being preventable or potentially preventable if transferred for the primary indication of trauma was 3.9 (95% confidence interval 2.1-7.1; P < 0.001). Among the preventable cases, the total cost of transfer was AU$105 984 over 6 months, not accounting for the costs of duplication of care.

CONCLUSIONS

This proof-of-concept study suggests that strategies to expand the provision of acute care to outreach within specialist networks and reduce patient transfers should be further explored. An outreach programme for improved acute assessment of patients at the referring hospital particularly after acute trauma may prevent transfers, improving care pathways.

Variation in Hospital Use at the End of Life Among New South Wales Residents Who Died in Hospital or Soon After Discharge

Objective: Hospital use increases in the last 3 months of life. We aimed to examine its association with where people live and its variation across a large health jurisdiction. Methods: We studied a number of emergency department presentations and days spent in hospital, and in-hospital deaths among decedents who were hospitalized within 30 days of death across 153 areas in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, during 2010-2015. Results: Decedents' demographics and health status were associated with hospital use. Primary care and aged care supply had no or minimal influence, as opposed to the varying effects of areal factors-socioeconomic status, remoteness, and distance to hospital last admitted. Overall, there was an approximate 20% difference in hospital use by decedents across areas. In all, 18% to 57% of areas had hospital use that differed from the average. Discussion: The observed disparity can inform targeted local efforts to strengthen the use of community care services and reduce the burden of end-of-life care on hospitals.

Variations in hospital inpatient palliative care service use: a retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

Use of palliative care in hospitals for people at end of life varies. We examined rate and time of in-hospital palliative care use and associated interhospital variations.

METHODS

We used admissions from all hospitals in New South Wales, Australia, within a 12-month period, for a cohort of adults who died in 73 public acute care hospitals between July 2010 and June 2014. Receiving palliative care and its timing were based on recorded use.

RESULTS

Among 90 696 adults who died, 27% received palliative care, and the care was initiated 7.6 days (mean; SD: 3.3 days) before death. Over the 5-year period, the palliative care rate rose by 58%, varying extent across chronic conditions. The duration of palliative care before death declined by 7%. Patient (demographics, morbidities and service use) and hospital factors (size, location and availability of palliative care unit) explained half of the interhospital variation in outcomes: adjusted IQR in rate and duration of palliative care among hospitals were 23%-39% and 5.2-8.7 days, respectively. Hospitals with higher rates often initiated palliative care earlier (correlation: 0.39; p<0.01).

CONCLUSION

Despite an increase over time in the palliative care rate, its initiation was late and of brief duration. Palliative care use was associated with patient and hospital characteristics; however, half of the between hospital variation remained unexplained. The observed suboptimal practices and variability indicate the need for expanded and standardised use of palliative care supported by assessment tools, service enhancement and protocols.

Accuracy of inter-hospital transfer information in Australian hospital administrative databases

Inter-hospital transfers improve care delivery for which sending and receiving hospitals both accountable for patient outcomes. We aim to measure accuracy in recorded patient transfer information (indication of transfer and hospital identifier) over 2 years across 121 acute hospitals in New South Wales, Australia. Accuracy rate for 127,406 transfer-out separations was 87 per cent, with a low variability across hospitals (10% differences); it was 65 per cent for 151,978 transfer-in admissions with a greater inter-hospital variation (36% differences). Accuracy rate varied by departure and arrival pathways; at receiving hospitals, it was lower for transfer-in admission via emergency department (incidence rate ratio = 0.52, 95% confidence interval: 0.51-0.53) versus direct admission. Transfer-out data were more accurate for transfers to smaller hospitals (incidence rate ratio = 1.06, 95% confidence interval: 1.03-1.08) or re-transfers (incidence rate ratio > 1.08). Incorporation of transfer data from sending and receiving hospitals at patient level in administrative datasets and standardisation of documentation across hospitals would enhance accuracy and support improved attribution of hospital performance measures.