Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Streamlining Workflow Improves Follow-up Care

Post-discharge phone calls are best practice, but multiple phone calls can confuse and frustrate patients. At Mills-Peninsula Medical Center, a 241-bed hospital in Burlingame, Calif.,  and part of Sutter Health, staff realized five different hospital groups were calling patients after discharge, so a project began to audit and streamline the workflow. Care transitions coordinators worked with the patient relations team to remove redundancies in calls to patients and make them more effective for all involved. The teams reviewed the purpose of each call and who was making the call. Ultimately, the organization created a new streamlined workflow that identified which group would be calling which patients for what purpose. The new workflow has ensured follow-up calls are more effective, improved patient satisfaction and conserved hospital resources. Now patients are more willing to talk because the staff person calling can address any concerns. The streamlined workflow also has increased work satisfaction of staff, who believe their calls to patients are making a bigger impact.

For more information, contact Yvonne Chan, program manager, at chanyk@sutterhealth.org. The hospital’s story and “Discharge Call Flowchart” with criteria and responsibilities for patient outreach are available on the Huddle for Care website at www.huddleforcare.org. Huddle for Care features brief stories submitted by front-line staff to share solutions for care transitions.