The perioperative handoff protocol: evaluating impacts on handoff defects and provider satisfaction in adult perianesthesia care units

Postoperative patient handovers—Variability in perceptions of quality: A qualitative focus group study

“…In the study by Randmaa et al (2017), the participants expressed a concern about the transfer of information related to surgery, as members of the surgical team were not present at postoperative patient handovers and nurse anaesthetists were unable to answer questions related to surgery. The implementation of a surgical team member in the transferring team has been part of the intervention in some studies on postoperative handover quality (Nagpal et al, 2013;Petrovic et al, 2015). This supports the inclusion of a representative with knowledge of the surgery at patient handovers to the PACU.…”

“…Several studies have reported handovers after surgery in the postanaesthesia care unit (PACU) as being unstructured with omissions of important information about the patient (Anwari, 2002;Milby, Bohmer, Gerbershagen, Joppich, & Wappler, 2014;Nagpal, Arora, et al, 2010;Siddiqui et al, 2012;Smith, Pope, Goodwin, & Mort, 2008). Standardisation of the patient handover process through implementation of checklists and protocols has had a positive influence on the completeness of verbal reporting and practical tasks performed (Agarwal et al, 2012;Nagpal et al, 2013;Petrovic et al, 2015;Weinger et al, 2015). The previous research on postoperative handover has, to a large degree, been focused on standardisation and verbal reporting.…”

Standardized Communication and Perioperative Staff Satisfaction

“…Studies 1, 2 and 3, Argarwala et al (2015), Caruso et al (2014) and Petrovic et al (2014), respectively, all received the best possible scores, suggestive that these studies may be considered the highest quality of all the studies included in this systematic review. Study 5, Bohmer et al (2011), was determined be of good quality, but may not be completely applicable to the target population because it failed to describe the satisfaction measurements clearly.…”

“…First, studies that resulted in improved satisfaction are listed. All six studies showed improved satisfaction of all participant groups, with the exception being Petrovic et al (2014), which demonstrated mixed results. Despite the decreased satisfaction scores by anesthesia providers, PACU nurse satisfaction was significantly increased; which supported the decision to include the study in the flowchart.…”

Electronic tool helps anaesthesia trainee handovers

“…One vulnerable area for communication breakdown is during the handover of patient care . Handovers are common occurrences throughout clinical care and are defined as ‘accurate transfers of information about a patient's medical state and care plan, ensuring a seamless continuity of care between a set of providers' . More attention has been drawn to the importance of safe handovers as resident duty hour restrictions have increased the number of handovers.…”