Standardization of Burn Patients Transfer: Implementation of a Transfer Request Form to Israel's National Burn Center.

BACKGROUND

Burn injuries are an extreme form of traumatic injury and are a global health issue. The Israeli National Burn Unit at the Sheba Medical Center, a tertiary level 1 trauma center and hence the national referral center, treats burn patients admitted both directly and referred from other medical centers. The transfer and handover of patients is a critical step in patient care. In Israel, to date, there is no standardized and accepted transfer request form for burn patients from one medical facility to another.

OBJECTIVES

To construct a transfer request form to be used in all future burn patient referrals.

METHODS

After reviewing publicly available international transfer forms and comparing them to the admission checklist used at our unit, a structured transfer request form was constructed.

RESULTS

After a pilot study period, testing the form in various scenarios and adapting it, the first standardized transfer form for burn patients in Israel in both English and Hebrew was implemented beginning May 2020.

CONCLUSIONS

Implementation of a standardized transfer process will improve communication between healthcare professionals to help maintain a continuum of care. We believe that implementation of a burn transfer form in all future referrals can standardize and assure better care for burn patients, thus improving overall patient care.