Reengineering the Discharge of Elderly Patients from Intensive Care: Pre-Clinical Evaluation of a Tool Kit

This tool kit will be similar to the Surgical Safety Checklist promoted by the World Health Organization, and will be designed to ensure that the right patient is discharged at the right time to the right setting with the right care plan.

Research Results

Project findings and information will be updated on a continual basis.

About the Project

When patients are transferred from one ward to another, or from one provider to another, there is a high risk of errors in medical care. Some of these errors may lead to unintended and harmful events. The transfer of patients from the intensive care unit (ICU) to a hospital ward is an example of a high-risk transfer. Seriously ill frail elderly patients are especially prone to experiencing problems during these transfers. In direct response to this issue, we have assembled a team of professionals and interested citizens from across the country to re-design the transfer of frail elderly patients from intensive care by developing and testing an evidence-informed ‘ICU discharge tool kit’.

The proposed tool kit builds on our existing research program and may serve as a model for improving transitions of care for other patients. The complexity of this problem requires an approach that combines scientific excellence with participation by patients, family members, providers and managers so that a durable product is created. Our proposal is directly aligned with the objectives of this competition, which are to improve outcomes and care across the continuum, by optimizing transitions of care. 

Project Team

Principal Investigators:

Henry Stelfox, MD, PhD, FRCPC — University of Calgary

Sean Bagshaw, MD, MSc, FRCPC — University of Alberta

Co-Investigators:

Chaim Bell, PhD — University of Toronto

Fiona Clement, MD, MSc, FRCPC — University of Calgary

Michael Detsky, MD, MSc, FRCPC — University of Toronto

Peter Dodek, MD, MHSc — University of British Columbia

Alan Forster, BEng — University of Ottawa

Daniel Niven, PhD, MSc, RN — University of Calgary

Peter Oxland, PhD — CCSCN, Alberta Health Services

Elisavet Papthanasoglou, MD, PhD, FRCPC — University of Alberta

Jeanna Parsons Leigh, MD, FRCPC — Alberta Health Services

Sharon Straus, MD, MSc, BSc, FRCPC — University of Toronto

Knowledge Users and Partners:

Chip Doig, MD, MSc, FRCPC — Alberta Health Services

Jayna Holroyd-Leduc, MD, FRCPC — Alberta Health Services

Colleen Norris, RN, BScN, MN, PhD — Alberta Health Services

Dan Zuege, MD, MSc, FRCPC — Alberta Health Services

David Zygun, MD, MSc, FRCPC — Alberta Health Services 

Project Contact: Dr. Henry Stelfox — tstelfox@ucalgary.ca

CAT 2015-06