Beyond the requirement: A novel patient follow‐up report

Background Residents are required to participate in practice‐based learning and improvement. Most commonly, a resident‐initiated patient follow‐up log is used to meet the requirement. We sought to provide residents with follow‐up information in an efficient, value‐added manner via a patient follow‐up report (PFUR). Methods The PFUR is an automated monthly report sent to individual residents via email. It was generated from the electronic medical record and included five categories of cases: patients who were discharged and returned for admission within 72 h, diagnosis‐based criteria, patients who expired during the hospital stay, patients who were admitted to or upgraded to the intensive care unit (ICU) within 24 h of admission, and patients independently flagged by the care team for follow‐up. The PFURs were analyzed for 6 months after implementation for number and categorization of cases included as well as via survey of the residents. Results In 6 months, 1078 patients, generating 1155 follow‐ups, were included on the PFUR. ICU upgrades were the most represented category (41%), followed by diagnosis‐based criteria (30%). Patients who were discharged and admitted within 72 h were least commonly represented on the PFUR (2%). Seventy‐eight percent of residents felt that patient follow‐ups were valuable to their education and 82% felt that the PFUR impacted the clinical care they provided. The PFUR was preferred by 90% of resident respondents and had an average value rating of 4.38 out of 5. Conclusions Overall numbers of patient follow‐ups significantly increased after implementation of the PFUR. Certain categories were more represented overall and within each class, which has implications for future educational initiatives. After a pilot period, the novel PFUR appears to be more efficient, accessible, and highly valued than the log used previously. Programs looking to maximize the educational benefits of patient follow‐ups may consider a similar initiative.