Ticking All the Right Boxes: Increasing the Number of Appropriate Speech Therapy Referrals
Care Process & Redesign
Singapore Healthcare Management Congress
SingHealth
31 December 2018
To ensure 100% of general medicine patients requiring Speech Therapy (ST) are appropriately referred within 6 months. The initiative improved patient safety and care quality through enhanced referral workflows.
Year Submitted: 2018
Published Date: 31 December 2018
Tags: Care Process ＆ Redesign, Access To Care, Referral Rate
About this Content
Aims
To ensure 100% of general medicine patients requiring Speech Therapy (ST) are appropriately referred within 6 months.
Background
Patients with conditions like dysphagia were not consistently referred to ST, leading to risks like aspiration pneumonia.
Methods
Conducted training, developed a dysphagia screener, and implemented interventions via PDSA cycles.
Results
Referral rate increased from 19% to 100%; screener uptake monitored and sustained beyond implementation.
Conclusion
The initiative improved patient safety and care quality through enhanced referral workflows.
Lessons Learnt
Training and user-friendly tools improve compliance and sustain behavior change.
Additional Information
Singapore Healthcare Management Congress 2018 – Access to Care, Referral Rate
Keywords
Speech Therapy, Dysphagia, Referrals
Innovators' Details
Innovators' Details
Healthcare Cluster(s) | SingHealth |
Organization(s) Involved | Sengkang General Hospital |
Platform(s) | Singapore Healthcare Management Congress |
Healthcare Professional Group(s) | Allied Health |
Applicable Specialty or Discipline | Speech Therapy |
Project Lead(s) | Chia An An |
Project Member(s) | Goh Huai Zhi |
Connect with this contributor!
Chia An An - singaporehealthcaremanagement@singhealth.com.sg
Project Attachment
C_88_SKH_SHM_2018_Ticking_all_the_right_boxes_Increasing_the_number_of_appropriate_ST_referrals.pdf