Preventing unnecessary transfers between hospitals
Identification and Prevention of Potentially Inappropriate Inter-hospital Transfers
['FUNDING_R01'] · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · NIH-11168720
This project will find which hospitalized medical patients are harmed by transfers between hospitals and create tools to stop unnecessary transfers.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_R01'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (BOSTON, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11168720 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
If you're hospitalized, the team will work with patients, families, clinicians, and hospital leaders to define when moving a patient between hospitals does more harm than good. They will review detailed medical records from about 1,800 transferred patients at 18 U.S. hospitals to measure how often transfers were potentially inappropriate and led to safety problems. Experienced clinicians will use standardized adjudication tools, informed by prior research and stakeholder input, to judge when a transfer was unnecessary or risky. The team will then develop a practical toolkit hospitals can use to reduce avoidable or harmful transfers and keep care more continuous.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Hospitalized adult medical patients who face possible transfer from one acute-care hospital to another would be the main group this work focuses on.
Not a fit: Patients who clearly need specialized services at another hospital or people not facing a hospital-to-hospital transfer are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reduce unnecessary transfers, lower avoidable harm, and improve continuity of care for hospitalized patients.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has shown some patients are harmed by transfers and similar chart-adjudication methods have been used before, but developing and deploying a prevention toolkit is a newer step.
Where this research is happening
BOSTON, UNITED STATES
- BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL — BOSTON, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: MUELLER, STEPHANIE — BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
- Study coordinator: MUELLER, STEPHANIE
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.