An Electronic Handover System to Improve Information Transfer for Surgical Patients

Abstract

Proper clinical transfers of patient care (known as handovers) are important to patient safety. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and satisfaction of an electronic system for clinical transfers of patients with complex surgical procedures. The design was a single-center observational study auditing the handover process. The electronic handover system combined with an electronic health record system was developed to help verbal handover. The system has a checklist to guide the structured handover process and provided information from the health record system. With the system, the elapsed time for surgical handover decreased from 10.5 to 5.4 minutes. The questionnaire analysis showed that clinician satisfaction with surgical handover increased from 69.4% to 79.3%, and the perception of communication completeness increased from 67.2% to 81.6%. The electronic handover system improved communication for the transfer of care for surgical patients.

Ensuring effective patient hand overs in the perioperative setting

“…The system shortened the hand‐over time by 48.6 percent, from 10.5 to 5.4 minutes. Satisfaction, as identified by personnel surveys, increased from 69.4 to 79 percent, and the perception of communication completeness increased from 67.2 to 81.6 percent …”

“…The system included a checklist that automatically incorporated most of the information from the electronic health record to reduce data entry, with checkboxes and prompts used when possible. 3 The system shortened the hand-over time by 48.6 percent, from 10.5 to 5.4 minutes. Satisfaction, as identified by personnel surveys, increased from 69.4 to 79 percent, and the perception of communication completeness increased from 67.2 to 81.6 percent.…”

“…Another hospital developed a standardized electronic hand‐over system to aid in verbal hand overs among the emergency department, OR, postanesthesia care unit, intensive care unit, and other inpatient units. The system included a checklist that automatically incorporated most of the information from the electronic health record to reduce data entry, with checkboxes and prompts used when possible . The system shortened the hand‐over time by 48.6 percent, from 10.5 to 5.4 minutes.…”

“…Although the key tenets for hand overs are the same across all settings, each department has its own team composition, communication methods, policies, and challenges . Perioperative hand overs can be particularly complex because they involve personnel in multiple departments, patients who typically cannot take part in the process, and a vast amount of information; the environment can be noisy and chaotic; and personnel are often concurrently providing patient care . Brown said that other complexities can include time‐management issues and variances in staff member routines.…”

“…2 Perioperative hand overs can be particularly complex because they involve personnel in multiple departments, patients who typically cannot take part in the process, and a vast amount of information; the environment can be noisy and chaotic; and personnel are often concurrently providing patient care. [2][3][4] Brown said that other complexities can include time-management issues and variances in staff member routines. "In the perioperative setting, time metrics are extremely prioritized, and staff members can feel rushed," she said.…”