Interdiscplinary Plan Proposal – Patient Handoff 

Interdiscplinary Plan Proposal – Patient Handoff 

Patient handoff in a hospital setting improves the overall quality of care. In Mr. T’s hospital, delays, reduction in patient satisfaction, and even threats to safety were attributed to a lack of timely and effective interdisciplinary collaboration at the time of patient transfer. This paper will present a proposed plan for a multidisciplinary process with the involvement of a registered nurse, physician, and administrative staff to ensure smoother patient handoffs and to facilitate more effective interdepartmental communication. The result to identify would be increased coordination, decreased time of transition, and increased patient satisfaction.

Objective

The evidence-based handoff protocol proposed is meant to reduce gaps and errors in interprofessional workflows and patient handoff. Research has shown that standardized handoff models share precise methods of minimizing adverse effects, enhancing patient outcomes, and enhancing patient-safety communication (Ghosh et al., 2021). Studies have established that adopting formal communication processes can reduce readmission rates by up to 15% and increase satisfaction rates by the same percentage (Becker et al., 2021). These outcomes directly link to enhanced performance and effectiveness within an organization.

Questions and Predictions

1. How will the standardized handoff protocol affect the patient’s waiting time during transitions?

As part of the handoff process, a 15% decrease in patient waiting times is anticipated within the first three months.

2. Will better communication at transitions decrease the rate of readmission?

One year after the implementation of the handoff protocol, readmission rates for communication-related problems are expected to drop by 10%.

3. How does the staff adapt to this new protocol?

Initial resistance may be demonstrated through an increased workload for training, but overall acceptance is expected when this protocol reduces rework and increases job satisfaction.

4. What is the impact of this protocol on patient satisfaction scores?

Within six months of going into effect, the handoff process is expected to result in a 20% increase in patient satisfaction ratings.

Change Theories and Leadership Strategies

The approach guiding the implementation through successful change would be Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model. Creating urgency, forming a coalition of leaders among nursing, administrative, and physician teams, and establishing a collective vision must be made to buy into and collaborate on proposed hospital protocol changes to handoff. This first step will involve staff instruction on the detrimental effects of lousy handoff practices, including delays and possible medical mistakes. Once the stakeholders understand why the status quo needs changing, communication obstacles will be removed between departments and celebrate small victories, like process improvements in specific units, to keep the momentum going. Through this model, stable and continuous improvement of the change in handoff practices is guaranteed, as noted by Haas et al. (2019).

Notably, the team will be motivated and involved through a transformational leadership strategy. Transformational leaders of the hospital will inspire and engage team members in accepting the new protocol by participating in implementing the new procedure and making working together a shared experience of responsibility. These leaders will role-model positive behaviors and create a teamwork culture by recognizing each discipline’s contribution and reinforcing the importance of efficient communication during patient handoffs. This, in turn, will make the staff feel valued and supported throughout the change process, hence increasing their adherence to the new protocol (Lin et al., 2020).

Team Collaboration Strategy

Various departments must join this process to implement the new handoff protocol. As Zorek et al. (2021) indicated, the IPEC Core Competencies framework will direct this. At this point, different roles and responsibilities must be clearly articulated for every team member so that communication across the team will be smooth and their functions will not be ambiguous.

• Transitions of care: Nurses will ensure that all pertinent information is collected and communicated clearly during handoff, focusing on the patient’s needs for continued clinical care.
• Medical orders – The physicians will see that medical orders are up-to-date and transmitted to the receiving department.
• The administrative staff will manage the scheduling and coordination of transfers, ensuring each department is well prepared for the receiving patient.

Subsequently, to achieve this, weekly multi-professional meetings will be held to review progress, identify any challenges, and adjust the protocol where necessary. Employing IPEC’s focus on roles, teamwork, and communication will promote efficiency and clarify responsibilities, ultimately driving the plan’s success.

As stated by Haas et al. (2019), introducing the Universal Protocol for symbol standards for communication achieved positive effects and decreased medical mistakes for patients. Equally, Lin et al. (2020) ascertained that methods such as transformational leadership, which focuses on communication and cooperation, are likely to enhance the staff’s compliance with changes in protocols in a way that improves patient satisfaction.

Required Organizational Resources

Several areas will require resources to implement the plan. First, staffing needs will require adjustments for the time needed for training on the new protocol, including extra time for team meetings and workshops. Existing staff will need to be trained, which will require a temporary increase in workload while training is underway. Consequently, there will be requests for technology/equipment to facilitate this communication across departments. The hospital’s current EHR will be amended to include access to standardized handoff templates for all departments. The estimated cost of implementing the plan, including staff training and modifications to the EHR, will be approximately $50,000. Besides, it will also take all the departments and patient records in the plan for its comprehensive handoffs. The hospital’s infrastructure can guarantee this access, but further coordination might be needed so that the training period can maintain the patient care process.

Without the plan, the organization can expect inefficiencies that will further add to overall patient dissatisfaction and increased readmission rates, with possible associated financial penalties relative to poor patient outcomes. If the plan is not implemented, the estimated cost to the facility could be over $100,000 annually due to inefficiencies, readmissions, and lost revenue from dissatisfied patients.

Conclusion

This interdisciplinary plan will address this essential issue of ineffective patient handoffs by Mr. T’s hospital through active communication among nurses, physicians, and administrators. It will be undertaken with Kotter’s Change Model and strategies to ensure buy-in through transformational leadership. The proposed IPEC Core Competencies will provide a framework for collaboration to ensure clear communication and clarification of roles, thereby making the handoff process more efficient and patient-centered. For a hospital with such available resources, improved patient outcomes, increased patient satisfaction, and operational efficiency are expected. Failure to act will result in prolonged inefficiencies, decreased patient satisfaction, and increased financial strain.

References

Becker, C., Zumbrunn, S., Beck, K., Vincent, A., Loretz, N., Müller, J., Amacher, S. A., Schaefert, R., & Hunziker, S. (2021). Interventions to Improve Communication at Hospital Discharge and Rates of Readmission. JAMA Network Open, 4(8), e2119346. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.19346

Ghosh, S., Ramamoorthy, L., & pottakat, B. (2021). Impact of structured clinical handover protocol on communication and patient satisfaction. Journal of Patient Experience, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2374373521997733

Haas, M., Munzer, B., Santen, S., Hopson, L., Haas, N., Overbeek, D., Peterson, W., Cranford, J., & Huang, R. (2019). DidacticsRevolution: Applying kotter’s 8-step change management model to residency didactics. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 21(1), 65–70. NCBI.

Lin, C. pei, Xian, J., Li, B., & Huang, H. (2020). Transformational Leadership and Employees’ Thriving at Work: The Mediating Roles of Challenge-Hindrance Stressors. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(1). NCBI. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01400

Zorek, J. A., Lacy, J., Gaspard, C., Najjar, G., Eickhoff, J., & Ragucci, K. R. (2021). Leveraging the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Competency Framework to Transform Health Professions Education. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 85(7), 8602. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe8602

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For this assessment, you will create a 2-4 page plan proposal for an interprofessional team to collaborate and work toward driving improvements in the organizational issue you identified in the second assessment.
For this assessment, use the context of the organization where you conducted your interview to develop a viable plan for an interdisciplinary team to address the issue you identified. Define a specific patient or organizational outcome or objective based on the information gathered in your interview.

Interdiscplinary Plan Proposal – Patient Handoff

The goal of this assessment is to clearly lay out the improvement objective for your planned interdisciplinary intervention of the issue you identified. Additionally, be sure to further build on the leadership, change, and collaboration research you completed in the previous assessment. Look for specific, real-world ways in which those strategies and best practices could be applied to encourage buy-in for the plan or facilitate the implementation of the plan for the best possible outcome.

Using the Interdisciplinary Plan Proposal Template [DOCX] Download Interdisciplinary Plan Proposal Template [DOCX] will help you stay organized and concise. As you complete each section of the template, make sure you apply APA format to in-text citations for the evidence and best practices that inform your plan, as well as the reference list at the end.

Additionally, be sure that your plan addresses the following, which corresponds to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so you understand what is needed for a distinguished score.

Describe an objective and predictions for an evidence-based interdisciplinary plan to achieve a specific goal related to improving patient or organizational outcomes.
Explain a change theory and a leadership strategy, supported by relevant evidence, that is most likely to help an interdisciplinary team succeed in collaborating and implementing, or creating buy-in for, the project plan.
Explain the collaboration needed by an interdisciplinary team to improve the likelihood of achieving the plan’s objective. Include best practices of interdisciplinary collaboration from the literature.
Explain organizational resources, including a financial budget, needed for the plan to succeed and the impacts on those resources if the improvements described in the plan are not made.
Communicate the interdisciplinary plan, with writing that is clear, logically organized, and professional, with correct grammar and spelling, using current APA style.