Opening the Yellow Envelope

Metro North hospitals and residential aged care facilities have joined together to enhance patient information handover and provide better continuity of care.

Metro North, Brisbane North PHN and QAS partners coming together to launch the refreshed Yellow Envelope at Redcliffe Hospital!

Metro North Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane North PHN and Queensland Ambulance Service formed an alliance to refresh the Yellow Envelope – a key tool that ensures emergency and hospital staff have the information they require to look after our patients appropriately and provide clinical handover from and to residential aged care facilities.

Elizabeth Davis, Director of Clinical Operations Strategy Implementation unit said the Yellow Envelope was made possible by the formation of the Innovation Alliances in 2016.

“The Innovation Alliances were set up to manage winter bed pressures. One of these alliances was the Primary Care to Emergency Alliance which identified handover of residents from residential aged care facilities as a concern and gave us the opportunity to refresh the Yellow Envelope and reintroduce it to our clinicians.

“It provides information about the patient’s medical history to allow clinicians to continue the right care.”

“Working together on projects such as the Yellow Envelope allows us to provide holistic, integrated and responsive care to achieve the best outcomes possible for our frail older patients,” Ms Davis said.

The Yellow Envelope has been successfully re-implemented at Redcliffe Hospital and will be refreshed across Metro North.

Executive Director Redcliffe Hospital Louise Oriti said the refreshed Yellow Envelope will provide a connected health service for patients in the Redcliffe and Metro North community.

“The refreshed Yellow Envelope will benefit our Redcliffe community and the greater Metro North community by facilitating admission and discharge processes,” Ms Oriti said.

This clinical handover tool also aligns with the Year of the Frail Older Person campaign, helping to respond to the challenges of caring for an ageing population by improving communication between all providers of care.