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Transfer agreements protect specialized medical centers and patients

Case Management Monthly, January 1, 2010

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Case Management Monthly.

JFK Medical Center (JFKMC) in Edison, NJ, is one that provides a specialized level of care (e.g., neurological, cardiovascular, or burns) to a large region of smaller hospitals. According to JFKMC’s director of case management, Sherri Sochaski, RN, BAS, the hospital is the neurological center of New Jersey.

“We will accept everyone,” Sochaski says.

Because JFKMC is so willing to accept patients who require the facility’s specialized care, Sochaski developed a transfer agreement policy.

Before a patient transfers to JFKMC, the transferring hospital and the transferring physician must sign a transfer agreement form (visit Case Management Mentor at http://blogs.hcpro.com/casemanagement to download a sample form).

This form allows both parties to agree on what services will be provided at JFKMC. The form also states that JFKMC is within its rights to return the patient to the transferring hospital after it provides those services.

“Not every patient we accept is automatically sent back,” Sochaski says.
If the patient remains unstable, cannot safely return to the transferring facility, or requires additional monitoring by specialized healthcare professionals, JFKMC will assume responsibility for the patient.

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Case Management Monthly.

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