Adapting to Capacity Pressures: A New Era for Patient Flow and Transfer Models

Patient transfers between acute care hospitals (inter-hospital transfer, IHT) occurs commonly, most often to provide specialized care unavailable at the index hospital. However, modern capacity constraints within the healthcare system have resulted in novel models of care that impact IHT. In this manuscript, we explore several models of patient transfer management that have evolved in response to current capacity constraints including repatriation and lateral patient transfers as newer care models to improve load-balancing across a healthcare system, and novel care models such as tele-consult services as alternatives to transfer.