Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Would You Operate On This Patient? - October 2015 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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4 0 O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 Keys to Smooth Patient Handoffs Relay the patient's condition clearly and concisely. P atient handoffs are those critical times when you communi- cate essential patient information and transfer responsibility of care. They're also opportunity for errors when nurses are distracted, hurried or interrupted. Listen in during handoffs at your facility to ensure they're concise, accurate and valuable. If they're not, reinforce the importance of incorporating these elements in every patient handoff. • Interaction. It's not the communication of the handoff-giver to the handoff-receiver that matters most; it's the communication between them — their interaction. There must be two-way communication. Both caregivers must be actively involved in the exchange and con- firm that the needed information has been received and understood, and that potential issues will be addressed during the next stage of care. S A F E T Y Pegi Wasserman, RN, BSN z YOUR TURN During handoffs, staff must focus on clearly communicating key details about the patient's condition.

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