Discharge Escalation Initiative

Helping to remove barriers to prompt inpatient discharge(s) while improving overall patient flow is a priority for UMass Memorial Medical Center.  Radiology has recently joined a multidisciplinary team that is aligned with these objectives.  Working with the department of hospital medicine, social work, nursing, IT, and process improvements specialists, Drs. Hao Lo and Steve Baccei (Vice-Chairs for operations and Quality/Pt. Safety) along with Kevin Reynolds (Radiology Clinical Quality Director) have developed several key enhancements aimed at prioritizing communication and imaging for (in-)patients pending discharge.  These enhancements include:

• Displaying an (in-)patient’s expected date of discharge on the radiology technologists worklist in Epic
  • This will allow technologists to prioritize discharge pending patients so that their imaging can be obtained in an expeditious manner.

• Building a ‘Secure Chat’ feature in Epic between (in-)patient units and radiology technologists
  • This will facilitate rapid communication between clinical teams and radiology to help remove barriers for prompt (in-)patient imaging; particular for discharge pending (in-)patients.

These enhancements are currently being piloted on selected radiology modalities and in-patient units.  A full go-live of these features across the medical center is anticipated by early May, 2021

Steven J. Baccei MD
Associate Chief Medical Officer, UMass Memorial Medical Center
Vice-Chair, Radiology Quality, Safety, and Process Improvement

Kevin Reynolds
Director, Radiology Clinical Quality