Table 1.

Conditions of interest (predictor variables) and the outcome variable, and associated structured interview questions for quantitative and qualitative strands

		Quantitative data	Qualitative data
	Definition	Structured interview questions
Condition of interest (Predictor variable)
Perceived transferring physicians’ uncertainty	The current physician perceived the transferring physician to express uncertainty about clinical decisions at the time of the care transition	Did the transferring hospitalist express uncertainty about the diagnosis or management for this patient at the time of transition? (yes/no)
Perceived transferring physicians’ request for communication	The current physician perceived the transferring physician to request communication back about the case at the time of the care transition	Did the transferring hospitalist request communication back about this patient? (yes/no)
Changed clinical decision	The current physician changed the transferring physicians’ diagnosis or management plan after the care transition	Did you change the patient’s diagnosis or management plan after the transition? (yes/no)
Outcome variable
Communication occurred	The current physician reported the status of communication with the transferring physician	Did you communicate back about this patient? (yes/no)	If yes, what was the primary reason for the communication? Who initiated the communication? What was the method of communication? If no, what was the primary reason communication did not occur?