TY - JOUR
T1 - A study of information flow in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings
AU - Demiris, George
AU - Washington, Karla
AU - Oliver, Debra Parker
AU - Wittenberg-Lyles, Elaine
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute R21 CA 120179: Patient and Family Participation in Hospice Interdisciplinary Teams.
PY - 2008/1/1
Y1 - 2008/1/1
N2 - The aim of this study was to explore the information flow of hospice interdisciplinary meetings focusing on information access, exchange and documentation. The study participants were members of four hospice interdisciplinary teams in the Midwestern United States. Team members included a diverse range of professionals including physicians, nurses, social workers, bereavement counselors, and others. A total of 81 patient care discussions were videotaped and transcribed. A content analysis revealed several themes that needed to be addressed to improve the overall information flow, such as access to and recording of information, documentation of services, obtaining information from absent team members, data redundancy and updating of recorded information. On average, 5% of all utterances when discussing a patient case were focused on soliciting information from the member who had access to the patient chart. In 12.3% of all discussions, members referred to an absent member who could have provided additional information. In 8.6% of all discussions the same facts were repeated three times or more. Based on the findings we propose guidelines that can address potential informational gaps and enhance team communication in hospice.
AB - The aim of this study was to explore the information flow of hospice interdisciplinary meetings focusing on information access, exchange and documentation. The study participants were members of four hospice interdisciplinary teams in the Midwestern United States. Team members included a diverse range of professionals including physicians, nurses, social workers, bereavement counselors, and others. A total of 81 patient care discussions were videotaped and transcribed. A content analysis revealed several themes that needed to be addressed to improve the overall information flow, such as access to and recording of information, documentation of services, obtaining information from absent team members, data redundancy and updating of recorded information. On average, 5% of all utterances when discussing a patient case were focused on soliciting information from the member who had access to the patient chart. In 12.3% of all discussions, members referred to an absent member who could have provided additional information. In 8.6% of all discussions the same facts were repeated three times or more. Based on the findings we propose guidelines that can address potential informational gaps and enhance team communication in hospice.
KW - Communication
KW - Hospice
KW - Information flow
KW - Interdisciplinary team
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=56549088658&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13561820802380027
DO - 10.1080/13561820802380027
M3 - Article
C2 - 19012142
AN - SCOPUS:56549088658
SN - 1356-1820
VL - 22
SP - 621
EP - 629
JO - Journal of Interprofessional Care
JF - Journal of Interprofessional Care
IS - 6
ER -