Table 6.
Most commonly made recommendations for hospital development
| Recommendation | Examples | Count (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Offer evidence-based, educational in-services to improve knowledge of referral criteria and garner support for organ donation activities among HCPs | Lunch-and-learns; credit for continuing medical education | 57 (81.4) |
| OPO’s contact information and the criteria for early referral of donor-eligible patients should be displayed and made easily accessible to hospital staff and healthcare providers. | Distribute reference cards; develop reference stickers for telephone stations; include information in patient chart template | 41 (58.6) |
| OPO should have greater presence in hospital beyond moments when donation is imminent | Biweekly rounds; informal and unannounced visits | 24 (34.3) |
| Provide statistics and donor stories regarding the numbers of patients referred in the units and the number converted to organ donors (i.e. benchmarking and data on unit progress). | Distribute letters about donor cases originating in units; include recent statistics in hospital newsletter | 23 (32.9) |
| Standardize clinical triggers for early referral at all hospitals within OPO catchment area | Meet with invested HCPs and administrators to make triggers uniform; work with nursing education staff; lobby influential HCPs | 18 (25.7) |
| Empower residents and nursing staff to place a referral call as soon as a clinical trigger is present | Prompt invested administrators and attending physicians to send memos; create and distribute promotional flyers and useful items (e.g. pens, note pads) with information | 17 (24.3) |
| HCPs should be encouraged to be present/more involved during the donation approach with the family | Provide training to HCPs so they can participate in approach with OPO staff; use relationships with hospital donation committees to determine best approach | 16 (22.9) |
| More group huddles should be implemented to consider family dynamics | Offer in-services to explain importance of huddles; involve HCPs during family approach | 15 (21.4) |
| Leverage influential HCP to encourage others to be unit/hospital champions for organ donation | Establish periodic meetings with influential HCPs; invite influential HCPs to participate in hospital development events, for example, symposia, donor recognition events | 13 (18.6) |
| Inform HCPs that they will not be reprimanded for referral “too early” | Coordinate with unit managers, nursing education, and attending physicians; provide education to emergency department staff; configure electronic charting system to prompt early referral to OPO | 10 (14.3) |