Congress Abstracts 2006

131

A NURSE MANAGED REFERRAL SYSTEM: APPLYING NURSING SKILLS TO A COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM. Melissa Gomez, RN, BSN, OCN^®, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.

Expert oncology nurses perform telephone triage of adult leukemia patients who are seeking care at this NCI designated comprehensive cancer center. Given the aggressive nature of acute leukemia, nurses are required to evaluate new patients to determine the acuity of the disease. Until recently, patient referral information was documented on paper and stored alphabetically in a binder. The binder was voluminous and not accessible to all nurses. Because different nurses managed the referral system, there was a lack of continuity and insufficient information to determine the status of the referral. Administrative staff and attending physicians found it difficult to decipher the information in order to schedule a timely office visit. Even with adequate documentation it was time consuming and difficult to read the large amount of written documented dialogue. It was essential to develop a new standardized tool, and to carry out a nursing education initiative for utilization and consistent implementation of the tool.

The purpose of this project was to develop a data collection tool that is accessible, effective, and rapidly identifies the status of a new patient referral.

A multidisciplinary effort which included support from hospital administration, hospital information systems, department of nursing, and physician staff, led to the adoption and modification of Patient Access Service (PAS), a computerized referral system. The leukemia nurses were educated regarding utilization and implementation of the new referral tool.

A blind survey was performed, showing leukemia staff satisfaction and a faster turnover time in scheduling new patient appointments, leading to improved patient satisfaction. It has enabled our nurses to maximize time management and improve communication among colleagues.

This electronic data collection tool improves patient care by easily identifying patient needs. The PAS system is easily accessible throughout the center and provides a standard that improves continuity of nursing documentation. It generates daily e-mails with patient referral status and nursing interventions. Patient care is improved not only by our oncology nursing skills, but also by the system that supports and enhances those skills. The PAS has been a welcome addition to the leukemia service and has improved the referral process at our center.