Department of Public Health - Acute Communicable Disease Control

Inter-Facility Transfers

Proper interfacility communication ensures quality care as a patient/resident moves through the healthcare continuum. More importantly, communication of the patient’s/resident’s colonization or infection status prevents the spread of organisms- such as CRE and novel MDROs- to other facilities. LACDPH has compiled information and resources on how to ensure clear, timely, and constant communication between healthcare facilities- see below.

Healthcare facilities receiving patients should proactively ask the sending facility (hospitals, LTACHs, and SNFs) to provide a completed infectious organism interfacility transfer form as a part of their admission packet. Consider incorporating this as a standard ask for all admissions from a healthcare setting, especially LTACHs and vSNFs. A list of LTACHs and vSNFs in LA County is available here.

Resources

	Transferring Guidance for MDRO's: This document provides some guidance on how transferring and receiving facilities can ensure that each patient's MDRO status is clearly communicated during the transfer process.
	Interfacility Transfers Guide: Healthcare facilities can use this guide to understand how to use an inter-facility transfer form, develop contacts at facilities you share patients/residents with, and transfer infected/colonized patients/residents.
	Interfacility Transfer Form: Inter-facility Transfer Form: Healthcare facilities may use this form to indicate a patient’s infection/colonization status upon transfer to another facility. Make sure you attach final lab reports, medication lists, and other medically-important documents too! PDF / Word version (for use as template)
	Contact Info Form: Healthcare facilities can use this form to keep a list of important contacts (i.e., case managers, infection preventionists) at facilities that they frequently share patients/residents with.