Patient Transfer

 

VBMC TRAUMA CARE SERVICES GUIDELINE

TITLE: Trauma Transfers to another Facility
PURPOSE: To outline the process for transfer of trauma service patients from VBMC to another facility

GUIDELINE:

Patients admitted to the trauma surgery service may require transfer to another facility. The most common reason is at the family’s request due to convenience or for sub-specialty services not available at VBMC.

Any patient on the trauma surgery service, admitted to the floor or ICU, who is to be transferred to another facility must first be seen and evaluated by an attending trauma surgeon.

The attending must confirm the appropriateness of the transfer. After the patient is deemed stable for transfer, there must be physician to physician (ideally attending to attending) conversation between the Trauma Service and the accepting service at the receiving hospital.

The specialist requesting the transfer, if not the trauma surgery service, must also converse with representatives of the corresponding specialty service of the receiving hospital to ensure appropriate transfer of care.

Prior to transfer digital copies of the pertinent pieces of the patient’s chart as well as diagnostic studies should be made to transfer with the patient.

All transfers should be based on patient need with no regard to payer status. The receiving institution should be made aware that the Trauma Service at VBMC will accept the patient in return if desired once the specialty service necessitating the transfer is completed.