Smooth Transitions: A Quality Improvement Program at the Foundation for Health Care Quality
A childbearing person or newborn may, for any number of reasons, require transfer to a higher level of care at some point during the intrapartum or immediate postpartum period. This may occur between the community setting (home/birth center) and a hospital, between hospitals, or between practitioner types within a hospital. Improving relationships, protocols, and follow-up during these transfers will improve care, enhance the patient experience, and strengthen professional relationships among practitioners regardless of the setting and circumstances in which it takes place.
Smooth Transitions is a statewide quality improvement program that began in 2009 under the auspices of the Washington State Perinatal Collaborative. In January 2018, Smooth Transitions moved to the Foundation for Health Care Quality, a 501(c)3 organization, based in Seattle, that is home to several other quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, including the Obstetrical Care Outcomes Assessment Program (OB COAP). Smooth Transitions works with hospitals and community midwives to address their shared responsibility for improving hospital transfers from planned community-based births to promote greater patient safety and satisfaction.
The program goals are to:
Smooth Transitions is a statewide quality improvement program that began in 2009 under the auspices of the Washington State Perinatal Collaborative. In January 2018, Smooth Transitions moved to the Foundation for Health Care Quality, a 501(c)3 organization, based in Seattle, that is home to several other quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, including the Obstetrical Care Outcomes Assessment Program (OB COAP). Smooth Transitions works with hospitals and community midwives to address their shared responsibility for improving hospital transfers from planned community-based births to promote greater patient safety and satisfaction.
The program goals are to:
- Improve the safety and efficiency of the transfer process through the establishment of system-wide protocols
- Collect and analyze transfer outcome data for the purpose of quality improvement
- Build greater collaboration between community-based midwives, EMS, and hospital care team
- Enhance the patient experience of care when transfers occur
Banner photo by Charlee Haller, used with permission.