Toolkit for Providers Serving Children with Hearing Loss
Tip #7: Schedule Follow-Up Appointments after Newborn Hearing Screening before the Family is Discharged from the Birth Hospital
What We Learned:
• Some families of children that “referred” after newborn hearing screening were leaving the birth hospital without a follow-up appointment.
• The need to re-contact the family after discharge to set up the appointment introduced an additional step at which families could be lost-to-follow-up.
• Families discharged at nights, weekends and on public holidays were particularly likely to leave the birth hospital without an appointment.
What We Did:
• Developed a process whereby families received a follow-up appointment (either for a re-screen or a diagnostic audiologic evaluation, depending on protocol) before discharge from the birth hospital.
• Tested use of on-line appointment systems that could be accessed out of office hours.
Questions for My Practice:
• Are families in my practice getting follow-up appointments for either hearing re-screens or diagnostic tests before they leave the birth hospital?
Changes to Try in My Practice:
• Work with the birth hospital to ensure families get follow-up appointments booked before they leave.
• Test use of on-line appointment systems, especially for out-of-hours discharges.
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