Improving Documentation at Transistions of Care

In Australia there are an increasing number of people who have complex and chronic healthcare needs, and it is common for their care to be provided by a number of different clinicians and health providers, across many different settings. This includes care delivery across hospitals, private rooms, general practices and other locations.
The points of handover when patients move between clinicians are known as ‘transitions of care’, and these are recognised as times of high risk for patients as there is an increased risk of information being miscommunicated or lost.
There is strong evidence that poor documentation of information at transitions of care is a key safety and quality issue for patients.

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (2017). Improving Documentation at Transitions of Care for Complex Patients.