Care transitions in the outpatient surgery preoperative process: facilitators and obstacles to information flow and their consequences

Transferring Patient Care: Patterns of Synchronous Bidisciplinary Communication Between Physicians and Nurses During Handoffs in a Critical Care Unit

“…11 The search for missing information or clarification of treatment orders can lead to delays in care and/or adverse events (T. Foster-Hunt, unpublished master's thesis, 2009). 10 The negative consequences of such gaps in communication have consequences for all involved as the workload and stress of the health care workers increase along with risks to the patient's quality of care. Poor communication concerning patient-relevant details during a handoff can also lead to inconsistencies in care, which have been identified as a threatening factor to patient safety.…”

“…9,10 Therefore, although handoffs are a necessary component of patient care, they can increase susceptibility to medical error through poor transfer of information, differential authority, and diffused responsibility for patient care. 10 The purpose of this research project was to capture current practices for handoffs during the critical care stage of recovery after surgery in a hospital setting. Specifically, the objective was to characterize information flow during transfer and identify patterns of communication between nurses and physicians.…”

State of science: human factors and ergonomics in healthcare

“…With increasing fragmentation of the healthcare system, the number of care transitions has increased, and often led to a range of information flow, communication and coordination problems (Horwitz et al 2009;Schultz et al 2007;Clancy 2006). Care transitions occur when patients move from one care setting to another care setting (e.g.…”

Beyond handover: supporting awareness for continuous coverage

“…Such collaboration involves both formal and 'on the fly' communication (Albolino et al 2007) and breakdowns in information flow are common. For example, within the outpatient surgery preoperative process, Schultz et al (2007) describe the difficulties that clinicians experience in accessing necessary patient information. These difficulties lead to clinicians spending significant time trying to access the necessary information, with negative consequences for patient care.…”