Dropping the Baton During the Handoff from Emergency Department to Primary Care: Pediatric Asthma Continuity Errors

摘要

Continuity-of-information and follow-up errors are failures of communication and continuity of care that are unfortunately all too common, as demonstrated in this study. It appears that more often than not, PCPs did not know their patients sought medical care in the ED, as the transmission of information was often unsuccessful. The majority of patients did not follow up with their providers after emergent treatment for asthma exacerbations; this was even more evident in older pediatric patients. This work highlights the unreliability of current phone and fax methods of communication between the pediatric ED and the CHCs.