Children's National Health System

COMMUNICATION 15 Healthcare poses many challenges, and understanding how to navigate communication barriers is one of them. Providers and administrative staff at Children's National are working together and reaching out to referring physicians to improve communication in order to better serve patients and families. Electronic, verbal, or written communication between primary care providers, specialists, patients, and families remains one of the most important elements of coordinated and integrated high-quality clinical care. "We are focused on bidirectional communication between referring physicians and specialists," says Denice Cora-Bramble, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer of Ambulatory and Community Health Services at Children's National. "When a patient is referred to the emergency room or admitted to the hospital, our physicians are redoubling their efforts to contact the referring physicians, inform them of the hospitalization or emergency room visit, discuss the therapeutic plan, coordinate the care of the patient, and transition the patient's clinical care back to the referring physician." THE ROLE OF THE PHYSICIAN LIAISON Children's National has multiple physician liaisons covering specific territories throughout the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. Each physician liaison serves as a direct point of contact for referring physicians and referral coordinators, offering assistance and up-to-date information about new programs, services, or specialists via email and in-office visits. "Physician liaisons are an important link because they keep their fingers on the pulse of community physicians," says Dr. Cora-Bramble. "They continue to be a great source of feedback, identifying recurring issues so we hit the mark." Fostering Open Channels of BY RACHEL STEWART C H A N G I N G T H E L I N E S O F C O M M U N I C A T I O N Children's National Health System is committed to ongoing improvements in communication between referring physicians and our healthcare team. To improve reliability and speed of delivery, we will no longer print and mail communications as of June 30. You can receive specialty consult reports, admission notices, and Emergency Department discharge summaries in the following ways: + Secure email to your personal or group email address or fax delivered to your office + Access to the Children's National Physician Portal (open to all referring providers) + Enrollment in Children's IQ Network and sharing information through the eClinicalWorks Electronic Health eXchange (eEHX) Physicians can select one or all methods to obtain information: + To request an electronic Physician Practice Participation Agreement form, email tbear@childrensnational.org. + To request access to the Children's National Physician Portal, visit www.ChildrensNational.org/ ForDoctors, select "Physician Portal," and then choose "Sign Up." + To learn more about Children's IQ Network, visit www.ChildrensNational.org/ CIQN. At Children's National Health System, ensuring optimal patient outcomes starts with the simplest of exchanges: clear communication between all members of the healthcare team. Communication Need to refer a patient? Visit www.ChildrensNational.org/AP-Refer for referral forms, current guidelines, and other resources.

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