The impact of standardised perioperative handover protocols

Abstract

The handover of the care of patients is acknowledged as a vulnerable period in the perioperative patient journey, and handovers given within the perioperative environment present the risk of potentially harmful errors occurring. These errors can result from poor communication and inaccurate information transfer, and may be avoided through the implementation of standardised protocols. This article presents an in depth literature review and discussion allowing for the examination of best practice in the delivery of a handover within the perioperative environment, drawing clear conclusions and presenting recommendations for best practice.

Handover using ISBAR principles in two perioperative sites – A quality improvement project

“…This project is similar to the findings of McFarlane et al who state that unstructured handovers given within the perioperative environment present risk of potentially harmful communication errors and transfer of inaccurate information occurring 6,7 . McFarlane also concurs…”

An Evidence-Based, Nursing Handover Standard for a Multisite Public Hospital in Switzerland: Web-Based, Modified Delphi Study

“…Despite the differences in the second-round items resubmitted to participants at the two hospital centers, the findings presented here will be a significant contribution to our multisite public hospital’s overall strategy of seeking continual improvements in the quality and safety of care via evidence-based practices [ 57 ]. As Klee et al and McFarlane stated, creating a consensus handover standard is a way to change the daily practices of all the nurses involved in this nursing process, and its results are not limited to those who accepted the item statements [ 58 , 59 ]. This e-Delphi survey process should not be considered as a generalizable method for creating clinical nursing handover standards in other hospitals.…”

Potential uses of AI for perioperative nursing handoffs: a qualitative study

“…[12–14] Protocolized or checklist based handoffs are employed to ensure that key information is transmitted throughout healthcare. [15–17] Similar methods of standardization have been applied to nurse-to-nurse handoffs [12, 18] and perioperative nursing handoffs specifically. [19, 20] Nevertheless, handoff-related information gaps are common for postoperative patients.…”