Staff Education Project to Train Providers on the Use of the SBAR Communication Tool to Improve Reimbursement Rates

In this doctoral project, I focused on educating healthcare staff on using the situation-background-assessment-recommendation (SBAR) communication tool to improve documentation practices and reimbursement rates from Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies. My goal for the project was to determine if training on the SBAR tool would improve healthcare providers' knowledge of how to use it for documentation. The facility had experienced significant financial losses, exceeding $1 million in the last two quarters of 2023, due to inadequate documentation. Inaccurate or incomplete documentation, particularly in medical records, hinders the ability to bill appropriately for services rendered, impacting patient care and financial sustainability. An educational training on the SBAR tool was developed. The training included a pretest, a PowerPoint presentation, two role-play scenarios, and a posttest. Data from the pre-and posttests were compared using a paired t test. The result suggested that the intervention did not produce a significant measurable impact on posttest results. This project highlighted the importance of improving communication and documentation practices to address financial losses and enhance patient care. The SBAR tool can improve reimbursement processes and strengthen teamwork, staff morale, and patient outcomes. The project has significant implications for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by fostering more precise communication across diverse teams and ensuring equitable care delivery. The recommendation includes ongoing staff training on SBAR to improve reimbursement.