Evaluation of A Standard Handover Tool at A Pediatric Tertiary Care Unit in Oman

Abstract

Background The handover system is a great communication tool used by physicians to transfer and receive patients’ care-related information. The introduction of structured handover tools has resulted in a dramatic reduction in hospital-acquired injury and death cases. We hypothesize that the I-PASS handover tool will improve both written and verbal communication without compromising the duration of the handover. The current study aims to improve the quality of care and patient safety by evaluating the applicability of I-PASS handover in the Child Health Department at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman.Results A total of twenty trainees were enrolled in this study. After the implementation of I-PASS, 70% (14/20) of the respondents thought that the handover was well-structured, compared to 30% (6/20) prior to the implementation of I-PASS (P = .003). Due to I-PASS, about 80% of the participants could identify deteriorating patients and around 60% were confident in addressing emergencies. The I-PASS handover technique has raised participants’ satisfaction from 80–95%. Before I-PASS, the mean adherence rate across all 10 variables was 28.7/50 (57.4%), compared to post I-PASS rate of 47/ 50 (94%).Conclusion The I-PASS system is a feasible and flexible clinical handover tool. This study showed that I-PASS has improved on-call handovers and patient safety.