Assessing utility and completeness of information transmission during emergency department transfers

BACKGROUND: The transfer of patients from community emergency departments to tertiary care centers is a daily occurrence in the practice of emergency medicine, but the completeness of medical data in the transfer documentation is a relatively unstudied area. The goal of this study was to evaluate the completeness of information transmitted in the transfer documentation between transferring and accepting institutions and its perceived value at the receiving tertiary center on medical management. METHODS: Prospective, observational, and convenience sample survey study at a tertiary referral center in Boston, MA. RESULTS: A total of 100 surveys were completed during the 2-month study period. The presence of the radiology report and the provider note was most important in physician assessment of utility of the transfer packet for subsequent care of patients, yet these were the most commonly missing items (31.1% and 21% respectively). Other common missing data were medication administration records, nursing notes, and laboratory results. CONCLUSIONS: Medical data is absent in 15–31% of patients transferred from a community ED to a tertiary center. Provider notes and radiology reports were assessed as having the most utility to the receiving physicians.