Strategies to improve the experience of patients with brain tumors in the inpatient rehabilitation setting: development of a care coordination checklist

PurposeTo develop a checklist to facilitate coordination of care and communication of patients with brain tumors and assess the benefit of the checklist using a quality improvement surveyMaterials and MethodsRehabilitation teams are challenged to respond to the unique needs of patients with brain tumors as this population requires coordinated care across multiple disciplines with frequent communication. To improve care of this patient population in an IRF setting, we developed a novel checklist using a multidisciplinary team of clinicians. Our checklist aims to improve communication between multiple treatment teams, achieve appropriate goals during the IRF stay, involve services as needed and arrange post-discharge services for patients with brain tumors. We then used a quality improvement survey among clinicians to assess the efficacy and general opinion of the checklist.ResultsA total of 15 clinicians completed the survey. 66.7% felt that the checklist improved care delivery, and 66.7% felt the checklist improved communication between providers internally and with external institutions. More than half felt the checklist improved the patient experience and care delivery.ConclusionsA care coordination checklist has the potential to address the unique challenges experienced by patients with brain tumors to improve overall care for this population.