Excellent communication with our referring and receiving physicians is essential to providing high quality, team-oriented care at BWH. When polled, our referring and receiving physicians repeatedly tell us that the important aspects of care at BWH are quality, innovation, service, access, and communication.
Communication to referring physicians should be complete, focused, and timely, depending on the clinical condition. Major issues such as antibiotic courses, anticoagulation regimens, catheter and line plans, and follow-up plans must be included and received by the receiving physicians either with the patient, or in advance of the physician having to interact with the patient and family. Information can be in the form of a letter, discharge summary, or phone call.
Recently our physician colleagues out of the state and out of the country have asked for fax communications. Mail can often be delayed (up to two months to Bermuda) and not all are reading e-mail. Urgent conditions or patient changes should be communicated by telephone. Many of our inpatient units are using discharge information envelopes to organize and present information to the receiving facilities. The nurse managers on the units should be aware of this process.
Highly functional teams providing care for our patients are essential for optimum care. Including our referring and receiving physicians in our team communication is in the best interest of our patients and for continuing to grow our practices. The BWH standards of communication can be viewed at http://www.brighamandwomens.org/medicine
Suggestions or questions should be directed to Robert Goldszer, MD at ext. 2-8988 or via email (rgoldszer@partners.org).