Beyond the requirement: A novel patient follow-up report

Background

Residents are required to participate in practice-based learning and improvement. Most commonly, a resident-initiated patient follow-up log is used to meet the requirement. We sought to provide residents with follow-up information in an efficient, value-added manner via a patient follow-up report (PFUR).

Methods

The PFUR is an automated monthly report sent to individual residents via email. It was generated from the electronic medical record and included five categories of cases: patients who were discharged and returned for admission within 72 h, diagnosis-based criteria, patients who expired during the hospital stay, patients who were admitted to or upgraded to the intensive care unit (ICU) within 24 h of admission, and patients independently flagged by the care team for follow-up. The PFURs were analyzed for 6 months after implementation for number and categorization of cases included as well as via survey of the residents.

Results

In 6 months, 1078 patients, generating 1155 follow-ups, were included on the PFUR. ICU upgrades were the most represented category (41%), followed by diagnosis-based criteria (30%). Patients who were discharged and admitted within 72 h were least commonly represented on the PFUR (2%). Seventy-eight percent of residents felt that patient follow-ups were valuable to their education and 82% felt that the PFUR impacted the clinical care they provided. The PFUR was preferred by 90% of resident respondents and had an average value rating of 4.38 out of 5.

Conclusions

Overall numbers of patient follow-ups significantly increased after implementation of the PFUR. Certain categories were more represented overall and within each class, which has implications for future educational initiatives. After a pilot period, the novel PFUR appears to be more efficient, accessible, and highly valued than the log used previously. Programs looking to maximize the educational benefits of patient follow-ups may consider a similar initiative.