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O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 | O U T P AT 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
• The most recent information. The patient's information must be up to
date and clearly presented. Always report the latest updates about the
patient's care, treatment, condition, and any recent or anticipated
changes.
• Limited interruptions. Researchers in one study found that as many
as 40% of handoffs were associated with communication distractions.
By limiting interruptions and distractions, you minimize the possibility
that any information will be either forgotten or not conveyed. The key
here is limiting interruptions — eliminating them altogether is imprac-
tical in the perioperative environment. However, if your staff mem-
bers can agree for the sake of patient safety to do their best to avoid
being the person doing the interrupting, you'll be much closer to
reaching the goal of limited interruptions.
• Verification. To ensure the handoff-receiver hears and fully under-
stands the patient's information, each handoff should have a read-back
(or repeat-back) step. This simply involves repeating back either exact-
ly or paraphrasing what the handoff-receiver just heard to confirm that
she got it right. It's a simple, but effective communication improve-
ment tool.
• Opportunity to review. Build in an opportunity for the handoff-receiv-
er to review relevant patient history. This is the final step of an effec-
tive handoff. It's also an essential aspect of both patient safety and
best patient care. The 30 to 60 seconds that this step takes helps avoid
critical mistakes from being made at subsequent stops along the peri-
operative pathway. Don't skip it.
Review and reinforce
Your staff can have every good intention of making every effort to per-
form concise, accurate and valuable handoffs, but in the day-to-day
busyness and complexity of the perioperative setting, it's too easy to
