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Information exchange among physicians caring for the same patient in the community.
van Walraven C, Taljaard M, Bell CM, et al. CMAJ. 2008;179:1013-1018.
 

Significant attention to gaps in the continuity of care has led to past research focused on hospital transitions and medication management systems in the ambulatory setting. This study tracked information exchange between outpatient providers caring for the same patient following hospital discharge. Remarkably, they discovered that information from the previous visit was available at a subsequent visit only 22% of the time. Factors associated with information being available included care by a family physician and whether that physician was treating the patient prior to hospitalization. The findings raise ongoing concerns about poor communication and highlight the need for systems to foster more effective clinical information exchange between providers. A past AHRQ WebM&M perspective discussed care transitions associated with hospital discharge.

 
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Resource Type:  Journal Article > Study

Setting of Care:  Hospitals

   Ambulatory Care > Ambulatory Clinic or Office

Target Audience:  Health Care Providers

   Health Care Executives and Administrators

Clinical Area:  Medicine > Family Medicine

   Medicine > Primary Care

   Medicine > Internal Medicine > General Internal Medicine

   Medicine > Hospital Medicine

Safety Target:  Discontinuities, Gaps, and Hand-Off Problems

Approach to Improving Safety:  Communication Improvement > Communication between Providers

Origin/Sponsor:  North America > Canada
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