ArticleBMJ quality & safety2012
Searching for the missing pieces between the hospital and primary care: mapping the patient process during care transitions.
Article in BMJ quality & safety, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Process mapping in healthcare: a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Article
- Swaying Information About Care: Information-Sharing Challenges in Transitional Care of Older Adults in Japan.Journal of cross-cultural gerontology · 2026Article
- Care transition processes in the Singapore healthcare system: process mapping and perspectives of private primary care practitioners.Singapore medical journal · 2026Article
- Mapping colorectal cancer screening workflows in primary care.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Engineering Safe Care Journeys: Designing a Patient Safety Passport.Journal of patient safety · 2025Article
- Analyzing and mitigating the risks of patient harm during operating room to intensive care unit patient handoffs.International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care · 2025Article
- Frontline nursing staff's perceptions of intravenous medication administration: the first step toward safer infusion processes-a qualitative study.BMJ open quality · 2024Article
- Advancing the Care Experience for patients receiving Palliative care as they Transition from hospital to Home (ACEPATH): Codesigning an intervention to improve patient and family caregiver experiences.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Characterizing barriers to closing cross-institutional referral loops: Workflow and information flow analysis.Applied ergonomics · 2024Article
- Physiotherapists' perspectives of barriers and facilitators to effective community provision after hip fracture: a qualitative study in England.Age and ageing · 2023Article
- Exploring barriers and opportunities to improve osteoporosis care across the acute-to-primary care interface: a qualitative study.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2023Article
- Parent-identified barriers to accessing exposure therapy: A qualitative study using process mapping.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Patient journey mapping to investigate quality and cultural safety in burn care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families - development, application and implications.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Enhancing referral processes within an integrated fall prevention pathway for older people: a mixed-methods study.BMJ open · 2022Article
- The processes of hospital discharge and recovery after blunt thoracic injuries: The patient's perspective.Nursing open · 2022Article
- How to design a registry for undiagnosed patients in the framework of rare disease diagnosis: suggestions on software, data set and coding system.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2021Article
- Optimising the integration of technology-enabled solutions to enhance primary mental health care: a service mapping study.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Mapping the care transition from hospital to skilled nursing facility.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSafe patient transitions depend on effective communication and a functioning care coordination process. Evidence suggests that primary care physicians are not satisfied with communication at transition points between inpatient and ambulatory care, and that communication often is not provided in a timely manner, omits essential information, or contains ambiguities that put patients at risk.
objectiveOur aim was to demonstrate how process mapping can illustrate current handover practices between ambulatory and inpatient care settings, identify existing barriers and facilitators to effective transitions of care, and highlight potential areas for quality improvement.
methodsWe conducted focus group interviews to facilitate a process mapping exercise with clinical teams in six academic health centres in the USA, Poland, Sweden, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
findingsAt a high level, the process of patient admission to the hospital through the emergency department, inpatient care, and discharge back in the community were comparable across sites. In addition, the process maps highlighted similar barriers to providing information to primary care physicians, inaccurate or incomplete information on referral and discharge, a lack of time and priority to collaborate with counterpart colleagues, and a lack of feedback to clinicians involved in the handovers.
conclusionsProcess mapping is effective in bringing together key stakeholders and makes explicit the mental models that frame their understanding of the clinical process. Exploring the barriers and facilitators to safe and reliable patient transitions highlights opportunities for further improvement work and illustrates ideas for best practices that might be transferrable to other settings.
Indexed as
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.