Last week in the forum, members engaged in discussions about improving patient care transitions, particularly focusing on streamlining the handoff process from the operating room to rehabilitation facilities. Another recurring theme was managing burnout, with many sharing personal experiences and strategies for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. The community also explored recent updates in telehealth regulations and their implications for practice.
This Week’s Hot Topics
Streamlining the OR-to-rehab handoff
A lively discussion unfolded around creating more efficient and reliable handoff procedures. Members shared their experiences and suggestions for reducing errors and improving patient outcomes during these critical transitions. Read more here
Looking forward to another week of insightful exchanges. Stay engaged and keep sharing your valuable perspectives.
On our ortho service, we added a tiny OR-to-Rehab smart phrase that forces two fields: ‘next analgesic dose time’ and ‘VTE plan with stop date,’ plus any drain thresholds. It takes about 30 seconds and feels nitpicky, but it cut our after-hours call-backs by half and helped my burnout more than another mindfulness app.
Quick example: we set two daily handoff windows at 11:30 and 16:00 for OR-to-rehab calls, and the EHR auto-pages the rehab PA when the OR note includes “rehab-ready by 1600.” It trimmed after-hours clarifications and helped with burnout from last week’s theme, but you do need PACU charge buy-in to hold non-urgent transfers until the window. @Maya a two-week pilot was enough for us to show fewer callbacks.
We use a 60‑second ‘rehab SBAR’ on the VoIP handoff — name/MRN, weight‑bearing status, next analgesic time, VTE stop date, drains, and tonight’s red flags — and the EHR stamps a simple ‘rehab acknowledged at 16:05’ read receipt to close the loop, @sophie_klein75. Only caveat: it lives or dies on timely WB orders, so we added a one‑tap surgeon prompt to confirm before the call, like a quick preflight.
We added a required line in the OR note — “mobility device/brace size confirmed + cognitive baseline” — and rehab says it cut their first‑night calls by half; like labeling the cables before moving the TV. We also rotate a daily handoff lead to share the load; @taylor_hart87, your fixed windows pair nicely, though we keep one wildcard slot for complex cases.