Citation

Watson C. U. S. Army Med. Dep. J. 2014; ePub(4-14): 67-72.

Affiliation

San Antonio Military Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, United States Army Medical Department)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

25830800

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Clinical practice inconsistencies in the identification and referral of patients suspected of mild traumatic brain injury have been identified within primary care clinics in a major military medical center.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if the use of an overprinted communication tool would improve the referral/consultation process between identified clinics in one Army medical center.

DESIGN: The consultation/referral process was evaluated following an educational presentation regarding the use of a situation, background, assessment, and recommendation (SBAR) communication form. Data were collected from consultation charts before and after two months of use of the SBAR communication form.

RESULTS: The communication tool improved capture of dates of injury, prior treatment, history of testing, patient education, and request for therapy.

CONCLUSION: Findings from this project demonstrated that a communication tool such as the TBI-SBAR would be beneficial for use in primary care clinics.

Language: en