2025 Updates to Hospital Medicine Communication Methods
Hospital Medicine (HM) is streamlining direct provider to provider conversation requests to focus on patients with medical complexity, technology dependence, or special communication needs such as collaboration on discharge plan or social complexities. Routine electronic communication for all admitted patients will include admission notifications, history and physicals (H&Ps), and discharge (D/C) summaries.
Routine electronic communication
Cincinnati Children’s HM automatically sends an admission notification when a patient is admitted. The H&P and D/C summary are sent when signed by the attending. Practices receive communications via Clinisync or fax if not signed up for Clinisync. If your office is not receiving this desired information, please notify your Physician Liaison (list below) who can assist in making sure we have the correct office contact information. Sometimes a family chooses to opt out of admission notification or provides incorrect primary care information on registration that can also result in missing notifications.
Direct HM to PCP conversation
All calls to PCP offices will now be requests for direct provider conversations. Given updates in routine electronic communication, leave-a-message calls will no longer be placed. Patients with Complex Chronic Conditions (CCC) or High-Intensity Neurologic Impairment (HI-NI), as identified by ICD diagnosis codes, will be targeted for traditional phone calls to the PCP. These codes have been validated to identify patients with specific chronic health conditions or risk for functional neurologic impairment. Click these links to learn more about CCC and HI-NI classification. Teams should also be calling when they perceive a special communication need, such as to collaborate on discharge plan or to convey a unique concern regarding medical course or social complexity.
Direct PCP to HM communication
Multiple avenues exist for PCPs to contact a member of the HM team when there is a desire to request or share information:
Call Physician Priority Link at 513-636-7997 to reach a member of the resident team or the on-call HM attending. This is preferred when a response is needed immediately or after hours.
Call the Transfer Center at 513-636-XFER (9337) and select option 2, 2 to speak to a Transfer Center coordinator when the desire is to reach a specific patient’s Hospital Medicine attending or fellow. The phone menu indicates this line for direct admission requests, but it may also be used for this purpose. Please clarify that you are calling to speak with an attending NOT to initiate a patient transfer. Calls will be coordinated during business hours but outside of rounds to facilitate connection with the physician of record.
Send a message using EPIC Link’s Affiliate Message option. Messages can be directed to a specific attending or fellow when a response within 24 hours is adequate. These messages are similar to email but are HIPAA compliant. You may set Event Notifications in EPIC Link to alert you when a response arrives to your In Basket. Contact your liaison with questions.
Note that team assignment and attending of record can be determined via EPIC Link as shown below.
Hospital Medicine appreciates your ongoing partnership in the care of our mutual patients. When any questions or issues arise for which the above outlined measures do not suffice, contact Michelle Parker, Hospital Medicine Director of Community Integration at michelle.parker@cchmc.org.
Physician Liaisons:
Lana Akers (513) 803-8413 Email Lana Leslie Grube (513) 803-6175 Email Leslie
Kim Hunt (513) 636-4260 Email Kim Amy Lewis (614) 325-4958 Email Amy
Jessica Marischen (513) 636-6389 Email Jessica Therese Martin (513) 636-9340 Email Therese
Sheila Perry (513) 636-0977 Email Sheila Megan Schmutte (513) 636-8774 Email Megan
Detail of sending an affiliate Message via Epic Link
Detail of team assignment and attending of record