Family Doctor Notification Project

To facilitate continuity of care and improve communications with family physicians, we engaged a team of Information Technology staff and representatives of community physicians to design a better system to inform family physicians as to when a patient makes an ER visit. Physicians on staff who participate in the program provide us with an email address to receive alerts and are then provided with a user ID and password for their use (3 factor log on is used). If a patient of that physician visits the ER, an email is automatically generated to the physician’s email account. The message includes the patients name and a link to a web-based portal. When the physician logs on to the portal they can see all the data pertaining to that visit that is available electronically, including information only available after discharge, such as final imaging reports or culture results. Pre- and post-implementation audits of practice and MD satisfaction show that family doctors are now much more likely to know of their patient’s ER visits than before and are extremely satisfied with the process.