Care transitions has different workflows implemented by care providers. They can help with a variety of problems related to medicine reconciliation, efficiency, and safety of the patients. There was one study done where the care providers applied a transitional care management service led by a nurse care manager. A team developed a workflow using a Plan-To-Do-Study-Act cycle for communicating with patients. The study showed progress in following up with patients that had visited the facility 7 to 14 days prior to the phone call. This workflow process was effortlessly implemented in a primary care practice.

I visited the AHRQ Health IT website and looked through the different kinds of workflow tools that can be used to obtain and analyze workflow information. One tool that I believe could resolve an informatics issue in care transitions is a flowchart. A flowchart is a workflow tool that visually delivers the steps in a certain process. Many people see and understand certain data when it is visual rather than in data points. One issue in care transitions is having high readmission rates in facilities. To have low readmission rates, it is important to give proper care during and after the visit. Doctors have many tasks to accomplish every day, and some mundane tasks might be missed. Implementing a workflow flowchart to remind doctors to follow up with their patients after discharge will lower readmission rates. The visually engaging tool will also help in identifying areas for improvement in the process.

Human factors and ergonomics is the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data, and other methods to design in order to optimize human well being and overall system performance (IEA, 2000). The level of HFE work investigating the components of care transitions is low. However, research shows that HFE can diminish risk in patient readmission and provide a smooth transition by health care workers educating the patients on self-care after discharge. The technological tools and services the patients will use to understand their sickness must be user friendly and comprehensible to them. These tools could be mobile applications or website portals for that specific health facility. Charts, lab results, and visual imaging should have descriptions and summaries that are easy to understand by the patients. It is important to implement HFE in patient care because they need to take care of themselves properly after discharge. Having the right tools to do this will decrease readmission rates in facilities, improve the health of the patients, and create efficiency in one aspect of care transitions.

 

 

Resources:

“Flowchart.” Flowchart | AHRQ Digital Healthcare Research: Informing Improvement in Care Quality, Safety, and Efficiency, digital.ahrq.gov/health-it-tools-and-resources/evaluation-resources/workflow-assessment-health-it-toolkit/all-workflow-tools/flowchart.

Holden, Richard J., and Ephrem Abebe. “Medication Transitions: Vulnerable Periods of Change in Need of Human Factors and Ergonomics.” Applied Ergonomics, Elsevier, 10 Oct. 2020, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003687020302283.

Steckbeck, Julia, et al. “Implementation of a Workflow Initiative for Integrating Transitional Care Management Codes in a Geriatric Primary Care Practice.” Journal of Nursing Care Quality, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6013313/.