Postoperative patient handovers are fraught with technical and communication errors and may negatively impact patient safety. We systematically reviewed the literature on handover of care from the operating room to postanesthesia or intensive care units and summarized process and communication recommendations based on these findings. From >500 papers, we identified 31 dealing with postoperative handovers. Twenty-four included recommendations for structuring the handover process or information transfer. Several recommendations were broadly supported, including (1) standardize processes (e.g., through the use of checklists and protocols); (2) complete urgent clinical tasks before the information transfer; (3) allow only patient-specific discussions during verbal handovers; (4) require that all relevant team members be present; and (5) provide training in team skills and communication. Only 4 of the studies developed an intervention and formally assessed its impact on different process measures. All 4 interventions improved metrics of effectiveness, efficiency, and perceived teamwork. Most of the papers were cross-sectional studies that identified barriers to safe, effective postoperative handovers including the incomplete transfer of information and other communication issues, inconsistent or incomplete teams, absent or inefficient execution of clinical tasks, and poor standardization. An association between poor-quality handovers and adverse events was also demonstrated. More innovative research is needed to define optimal patient handovers and to determine the effect of handover quality on patient outcomes.

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Hospital ownership and teaching status is not a consistent predictor of differences in rates of potentially preventable adverse events, and these characteristics explain little of the observed variation in the rates of these events across hospitals.

blood transfusion independently leads to an increase in mortality owing to cardiac ischemia, delayed wound healing, organ dysfunction, and transmission of infection. Patients requiring hip or knee surgery are often anemic preoperatively, and the rate of blood transfusion is relatively high. The authors identified the problems, introduced a simple patient blood management algorithm, and collected data after its implementation. They should be congratulated for reducing the prevalence of preoperative anemia, decreasing blood transfusion rates, and reducing the length of hospital stay. Patient blood management, including simple intraoperative measures such as cell salvage, meticulous attention to hemostasis, and judicious use of tranexamic acid, is just 1 facet of an enhanced recovery pathway. These interventions are becoming increasingly popular and include preoperative optimization, as well as general measures such as maintenance of normothermia, appropriate analgesia prescribing, prophylaxis of postoperative nausea and vomiting, and assessment for deep venous thrombosis risk, all of which are likely to improve overall patient outcome.

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Catheter-associated urinary tract infections account for 40% of all health care-associated infections. An evidence-based, nurse-driven daily checklist for initiation and continuance of urinary catheters was implemented in 5 adult intensive care units. Measures of compliance, provider satisfaction, and clinical outcomes were recorded. Compliance with the checklist was 50 to 100%: catheter-associated urinary tract infections decreased from 2.88 to 1.46 per 1000 catheter days and catheter days decreased in 2 intensive care units.

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Aim This paper is a report of a study conducted to answer the question: ‘How do rural nurses and their chief nursing officers define quality care?’ Background Established indicators of quality care were developed primarily in urban hospitals. Rural hospitals and their environments differ from urban settings, suggesting that there might be differences in how quality care is defined. This has measurement implications. Methods Focus groups with staff nurses and interviews with chief nursing officers were conducted in 2006 at four rural hospitals in the South-Eastern United States of America. Data were analysed using conventional content analysis. Findings The staff nurse and chief nursing officer data were analysed separately and then compared, exposing two major themes: ‘Patients are what matter most’ and ‘Community connectedness is both a help and a hindrance’. Along with conveying that patients were the utmost priority and all care was patient-focused, the first theme included established indicators of quality such as falls, pressure ulcers, infection rates, readmission rates, and lengths of stay. A new discovery in this theme was a need for an indicator relevant for rural settings: transfer time to larger hospitals. The second theme, Community Connectedness, is unique to rural settings, exemplifying the rural culture. The community and hospital converge into a family of sorts, creating expectations for quality care by both patients and staff that are not typically found in urban settings and larger hospitals. Conclusion Established quality indicators are appropriate for rural hospitals, but additional indicators need to be developed. These must include transfer times to larger facilities and the culture of the community.