Information transfer at care transitions is an accreditation Canada standard and is essential to ensure patient safety. Patients receiving care in the emergency department who require diagnostic imaging services often have specific care needs (e.g. falls risk, altered level of consciousness, oxygen requirements etc) that are at times not well communicated between team members.

This project aims to assess the current transfer process, review best practice standards, identify gaps and develop a standardized communication strategy for the teams and evaluate adoption of the process.

The primary goal of this project is to improve the accuracy, completeness and consistency of information transfer between the emergency department and diagnostic imaging which will enhance patient safety, reduce communication errors, improve interdisciplinary team collaboration and improve the patient experience.

Students will have the opportunity to complete initial data collection and/or audits. Review organizational policies and practices. They can survey staff and complete interviews with patients to better understand potential barriers and areas of opportunity. Once the change idea has been identified, students will participate in developing a change management strategy, they may create learning/educational resources and/or develop a communication strategy to share their implementation plan with teams. Students will also complete review of outcome/process measures.