Section Head: Ramin Khorasani,
MD, MPH
Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Section Description: Communication gaps among caregivers result in suboptimal quality of care and
can negatively impact patient safety. Closing the loop on communication
hand-offs has been identified as a key safe practices goal and will be monitored
by JCAHO in 2007 and is likely to become an important quality metric for CMS
which could impact payments to caregivers.
In this session we will focus
specifically on communication of critical test results for medical imaging. We
will define important functional elements to successfully closing the
communication loop in the context of Joint Commission on Accreditation of
Hospital Organizations (JCAHO) requirements. We will then discuss how IT
solutions can potentially help healthcare organizations meet this important
patient safety goal.
104: Communication of Critical Test Results and the National Patient Safety
Goals: What You Need to Do Ramin Khorasani, MD, MPH
Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Learning Objectives:
1. Explain which NPSG components relate specifically to EHR incorporation of
critical test results.
2. For the case presented, describe the strategies that were applied to comply
with the NPSG targets.
3. Compare and contrast the challenges presented in case study with potentially
analogous conditions specific to your facility / organization.
204
IT Tool Kit for Optimization of Communication of Critical Test Results: What You
Need to Know Paul G. Nagy, PhD
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Learning Objectives:
1. Explain how IT solutions can help health care organizations meet patient
safety goals.
2. Describe the potential role of IT in closing the communication loop for
critical test results.
304: Communication of Critical Test Results and the Electronic Health Record
– a Case Example
Paul J. Chang, MD
University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the communication pattern and flow of critical test results in the
case example at this facility.
2. Understand the opportunities the electronic health record (EHR) offers in
improving patient safety.
