If you've been hospitalized recently, you may be surprised to learn that most doctors, nurses, therapists and other health professionals rarely sit down and talk to each other about how to treat patients; but, that's beginning to change thanks to a new process.

It's doctor's rounds at a busy hospital and the first patient of the day is Brian Brumley. It's the day after he collapsed from a possible stroke. "It was probably the most amount of doctors I've seen in a 24-hour period, anytime I've ever been hospitalized," Brumley told Ivanhoe.

What he doesn't know is that doctors, nurses, therapists and others connected with his care have just met to discuss his treatment. It's part of a new program hospitals are trying called collaborative rounds. "The idea had been for years that the chart was the central document," Brett Kissela, M.D., a neurologist at University Hospital in Cincinnati, told Ivanhoe. "And the idea behind collaborative rounds is that the team all meets together, so that communications becomes interpersonal."

At the daily meetings, each patient is discussed. "And we feel that it makes for a better patient experience and definitely provides for better patient care," Dr Kissela said.

Previous studies showed collaborative rounds reduced mortality rates, hospital stays and increased patient satisfaction. Dr. Kissela says employee morale is up and he expects medical errors to drop. "And certainly, some things that I might overlook a nurse will pick up, a therapist might pick up, the social worker might pick up," Dr. Kissela explained. And patients like Brumley are counting on that.

Dr. Kissela believes only a small minority of hospitals around the country have a collaborative rounds program like this. In addition to the daily meetings, the team also meets separately to troubleshoot problems. Meanwhile, a survey of patients showed they believe nurses do a better job of keeping them informed about their care.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Cynthia Starr

Media Relations Specialist

The Neuroscience Institute

Cincinnati, OH

(513) 569-5321

cstarr@mayfieldclinic.com