Patient Transfer Communications During the Pandemic and Beyond

For healthcare organizations across the nation, the process of arranging the transfer of patients from one medical facility to another poses a significant logistical and operational challenge—even without the pandemic. The traditional hospital phone systems that are still being used by many hospitals today simply were not built to handle the dynamic functions that are required in the patient transfer process. The consequences of using this old technology to communicate the patient transfer process include delays, inefficiency, potential lost revenue and significant challenges in providing the best care possible in a timely manner to their patients. For patients this can absolutely mean the difference between life and death. Now exacerbated by COVID-19, many hospitals are stretched thin and handling the process of getting patients where they need to be to receive the care level they require is critical.

Communication: The Greatest Challenge in Patient Transfer Operations

Transferring a patient is a complex process for both the sending and receiving facility. And although a lack of financial and staff resources is oftentimes the most obvious challenge when it comes to successfully transferring patients from one facility to another, perhaps an even more significant obstacle healthcare systems face when it comes to patient transfer operations exists in their communications strategy. 

Though digital transformation has been discussed by the healthcare industry as a whole for a few years now, many hospitals and organizations still utilize legacy phone systems. This poses a unique problem when it comes to transferring patients because aging phone technology can make it difficult for a healthcare system to dynamically transfer staff in and out of calls—which happens to be the most critical element of the patient transfer process. Legacy phones cause significant delays for the healthcare providers and physicians involved in the transferring of a patient. Many more phone calls must be placed, which eats up precious time which significantly impacts patient care. Quick, efficient communication is required to provide the patient with the care that they require when they need it.

This inability to seamlessly connect physicians over the phone directly results in long call center wait times and, ultimately, higher abandonment rates—meaning that transferring facilities and physicians  are hanging up before they even get to speak with the appropriate resource. In this patient transfer scenario, these types of challenges in communication are extremely troubling as they can mean the difference between life and death for patients. This inefficiency further impacts the transferring facility’s ability to care for more patients because they now must search for another facility to support the care of their critically ill patient. When you factor in the current coronavirus pandemic, the need for speedy, seamless communications is exacerbated.

Dynamic Teleconferencing & Real-Time Access to Data Are Key 

As healthcare systems look to improve their patient transfer services, they should begin by reassessing their phone systems and overall communications strategy. Most healthcare systems looking to improve their patient transfer operations today are adopting unified communications (UC) solutions to replace legacy phone systems in their call center. UC solutions are well-suited to support patient transfer services as they support the need for real-time, on-the-fly phone conferencing. Healthcare systems using UC solutions to power their communications enables their call center transfer agents to seamlessly pull available resources into a conversation in real-time—all while having visibility into the availability of such resources (i.e. whether or not they are out to lunch or meeting with a patient).

In addition to the drag-and-drop multiparticipant functionality that UC solutions support, it is critical for patient transfer solutions to include real-time insight into call center service levels. When management is armed with detailed data about the current performance of their call center, they can adequately plan for staffing—resulting in shorter wait times and faster care for patients.

Consider the case of Minnesota-based Fairview Health Services. The organization was struggling to grasp a clear understanding of its call center’s service levels, and it was unable to bring transfer agents and physicians together into one call. Today, Fairview is tackling its patient transfer challenges using a cloud-based call center solution that was built specifically for the patient transfer process. Fairview now answers 80 percent of all of their patient transfer calls in 15 seconds or less.

Technology to Innovate Patient Transfer

As digital transformation continues to impact the healthcare industry, healthcare systems are in a unique position to improve their patient transfer operations through technology. For example, advancements in telemedicine such as video visits and artificial intelligence (AI) are making it easier for healthcare organizations to accept and transfer incoming patients to appropriate physicians. Additionally, security features of advanced UC solutions are improving. Security is vital because patients’ protected health information (PHI) is at risk of being compromised when legacy phone systems are used to complete the transfer process. Consider the exposure risk when several physicians and transfer agents are on multiple phone calls working to transfer a single patient to a different medical facility. UC solutions designed for healthcare can offer the needed privacy and security of drag-and-drop teleconferencing.

It’s advanced features like these that have helped The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) to build the first of its kind statewide COVID-19 Patient Transfer Surge Line. They have leveraged Revation’s LinkLive Healthcare solution as a way for doctors, hospitals and health officials to quickly and securely communicate and collaborate with one another to ensure that COVID-19 positive or suspected patients receive the best care possible despite the increasing demand on the entire statewide health system.

The Pandemic and Beyond

Earlier this year when the coronavirus pandemic began to impact the U.S., the demand for new technology to enhance patient transfer communications became even greater. In fact, many healthcare organizations found themselves in urgent need of adopting multimedia communication solutions to adapt to the shift to telemedicine. And now as the pandemic continues to sweep across our nation, strengthening communications strategies and technologies has become an even higher priority—especially when it comes to patient transfer operations. As we look past the pandemic, innovative telemedicine technology will continue to reshape the way that healthcare systems across the country communicate for better patient transfer operations and enhanced care.