Design and implementation of a patient passport in a pediatric cardiology clinic

Background Communicating a complex cardiac history to healthcare professionals can pose a challenge to caretakers of pediatric cardiology patients. We sought to develop and implement a pediatric cardiology patient passport. We hypothesize that the passport will help facilitate communication and information sharing between caretakers and other healthcare professionals. Design Based on input from pediatric cardiologists at a major institution, we designed and implemented a patient passport in our pediatric cardiology clinic. Inclusion criteria included patients with a diagnosis of congenital heart disease, conduction abnormality, or arrhythmia. A patient/caretaker survey was conducted to determine the utilization and utility of the passport. Results A total of 100 patients were enrolled in the study between October 2016 and November 2018. The survey was completed by 43% (n = 43) of passport recipients. 88% (n = 35) were “extremely likely” or “somewhat likely” to use the passport in the future. 97% (n = 38) said they “definitely would recommend” or “might recommend” the passport to other pediatric cardiology patients and their families. 97% (n = 38) felt the passport will be helpful in the future when transitioning to adult cardiology. 43% (n = 17) of respondents had used the passport by the time of the survey. Of those who used the passport, 88% (n = 15) felt that the passport made communicating with the healthcare professional easier. No respondents (n = 0) said that the passport was not helpful in their interaction. Conclusions Introduction of a patient passport in an outpatient cardiology clinic may be beneficial. Our results suggest that patient caretakers feel that a patient passport can help facilitate both communication and information sharing with other healthcare professionals.