In other cases, accepting providers fear that they are not being told the whole story by the referring provider, and the patient will arrive in worse shape than was represented, resulting in unexpected complications. Accepting providers also sometimes worry that they will be held responsible for something that occurred during the transfer process that was beyond their control.

On the opposite side, referring providers often have similar concerns about continuity of care for their patients and being held responsible for events outside of their purview. Referring providers sometimes worry that they will be criticized for the clinical decisions they made once that patient is seen by the accepting provider and are nervous about backlash or reputational harm.

All these concerns are real and valid and illustrate the important role that transfer centers play during patient handoffs.

Creating structure around a sometimes-messy process
For accepting providers, the faster they can get a patient to their facility and under their care, the better the chances of improving the patient’s outcome. Transfer centers are essential in accelerating the transfer process because they have the people, processes, experience, relationships with partners, and technology dedicated to perfecting the critical steps.

Transfer centers act as an impartial third-party in the middle of the transfer process, helping to ensure that everything the referring and accepting providers discussed, promised, and agreed to gets done. Transfer centers do this by managing each case with standard operating procedures, including documenting all interactions and recording all phone calls so nothing falls through the cracks.

Transfer center staff are trained with protocols, scripting, and workflow designed to ensure that a standardized process is followed, like an airline pilot’s preflight checklist. With protocols in place, providers can be confident that every key step of a process is performed every time, though protocols must vary based on the needs of the patient, whether adult or pediatric, trauma, stroke, ob-gyn, sepsis, behavioral health, burn, or any of the other myriad situations that may demand a transfer.

Well-designed and well-run transfer centers generally use purpose-built technology platforms that are organized and optimized to accelerate the process, automating tasks such as ordering rides, finding the right admitting location and physician, and securely messaging colleagues. Technology alone is not sufficient, however. The workflow and processes and training and culture of the organization supporting transfers must be of the highest quality to ensure desired outcomes.

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