Department of Medicine
Opportunity Sponsor

Do we have the technology to develop a beeper/device that has the capability to text back to nurses voalte phones?  It would obviate the need to reach out for a phone or a computer every time a doctor is paged, and would improve communication among team members. 

Among the most important components of the hospital discharge summary is the section titled "Follow-up Needs for the Primary Care Physician." This contains specific "to-do's" such as "follow up blood culture results" or "check potassium level in 1 week." These items are often crucial continuations of care needed to close the loop on productive and high-quality hospitalizations. However, they are buried in the bottom of a several page-long discharge summary, making them less likely to be seen and acted on by PCP's. 

There is a disconnect between the Academic and Clinic Patient Calendaring.

Currently Admin's don't have access to the Clinic Schedules and while some clinic schedulers have general access to faculty calendars, they cannot see up to minute changes in availability entered by Admins or Faculty.  

I'm suggesting a system that will:

Anecdotal evidence from discussing with Gastroenterology providers at UCSF suggests that patient-provider messaging has become a major aspect of clinical care at UCSF, taking up significant time and providing valuable service to patients. However, there is no formal requirement to provide this type of care, nor is there a mechanism to provide re-imbursement. It is clear that this type of care will continue to increase in importance and use over time. I propose a project to formally study its use, highlighting the following aspects: