Surgeons' perspectives on operation report documentation

Abstract

BackgroundOperation report documentation is essential for safe patient care and team communication, yet it is often imperfect. This qualitative study aims to understand surgeons' perspectives on operation report documentation, with surgeons reviewing cleft palate repair operation reports. It aims to determine how surgeons write an operation report (in narrative and synoptic report formats) and explore the consequences of incomplete documentation on patient care.MethodsA qualitative semi‐structured interview was conducted with cleft surgeons who were asked to consider operation reports and hypothetical clinical cases. Eight operation reports performed at one centre for cleft palate repair were randomly selected for review.ResultsAn operation report's purpose—patient care, complication documentation, future surgery, and research—will influence the detail documented. All cleft palate repair operation reports had important information missing. Synoptic report writing provides clearer documentation; however, narrative report writing may be a more robust communication and education tool. Surgeons described a bell‐curve response in the level of training required to document an operation report—residents knew too little, fellows documented clearly, and Consultants documented briefer reports to highlight salient points.ConclusionsAn understanding of surgeons' perspectives on operation report documentation is richer after this study. Surgeons know that clear documentation is essential for patient care and a skill that must be taught to trainees; barriers may be the documentation method. The flexibility of a hybrid operation report format is necessary for surgical care.