Streamlining Telecommunications Center and Interfacility Patient Throughput to a Pediatric Emergency Department by Utilizing an Electronic Handoff: A Quality Improvement Initiative.

Objective: Effective handoffs are critical for patient safety and high-quality care. The pediatric emergency department serves as the initial reception for patients where optimal communication is crucial. The complexities of interfacility handoffs can result in information loss due to lack of standardization.

Redirecting Nonurgent Patients From the Pediatric Emergency Department to Their Pediatrician Office for a Same-Day Visit-A Quality Improvement Initiative.

Objectives: Providing high-quality care in the appropriate setting to optimize value is a worthy goal of an efficient health system. Consequences of managing nonurgent complaints in the emergency department (ED) have been described including inefficiency, loss of the primary care-patient relationship, and delayed care for other ED patients. The purpose of this initiative was to redirect nonurgent patients arriving in the ED to their primary care office for a same-day visit, and the SMART AIM was to increase redirected patients from 0% of those eligible to 30% in a 12-month period.