The ExpectED Project
Sending a patient to an emergency department (ED) is a major medical decision that can create a lot of turmoil and frustration for both patients and physicians.  Internal research has found that primary care physicians believe that they can provide valuable “handoff” information to the ED staff, but are often frustrated that it is difficult to actually do so since it is often still based on a phone call and a hand-written note (often called an "Expect Note").  The patients are frustrated that their physician’s insight is not always readily available to the new doctors they are seeing.   The result can mean inefficiencies, decreased quality, and bad experiences.

To help improve this issue, the SHIP worked together with the ED to create a more efficient and consistent way for physicians to notify the ED about incoming patients.   Specifically, we designed and launched a web-based tool that allows a physician to fill out an online form with all the relevant information needed: who is coming in, when they should arrive, what is going on, and how and when to contact the physician.  The ED registration staff will then monitor a specially designed web-based inbox that holds all these messages.  When the patient arrives, they will print out the message, thus ensuring the ED physicians have a legible and consistent note with information that can help them deliver more efficient and higher quality care.   The end result is a better experience for both the patient and the physicians involved in their care.

Launched Spring of 2008.

Read the healthspottr article about ExpectED on our Press page.

In July of 2011, the AHRQ Innovation Exchange published a profile of this project entitled "Referring Physicians Send Electronic Handoff Note With Pertinent Patient Information to Emergency Department, Improving Physician Efficiency and Quality of Care".  Read the full article: http://www.innovations.ahrq.gov/content.aspx?id=3107