Standardization of Operating Room/Intensive Care Unit Hand-offs

Hand-offs in healthcare are a tool to ensure essential patient information is properly communicated as responsibility of a patient is transfened from one provider to another. Inpatient hand-offs are often performed separately by nursing teams and medical teams, and both are frequently pressured by time constraints. Some of the most vulnerable patients are those transferred between the operating room (OR) and the intensive care unit (ICU). However, The Joint Commission (2012) has acknowledged that communication breakdown is a major contributing factor in nearly 70% of adverse medical events. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine whether the implementation of a structured, standardized hand-off process between OR and ICU teams resulted in increased staff satisfaction scores. The hand-off tool implemented for this Quality Improvement Project was the SBAR mnemonic, which describes situation, background, assessment and recommendation. Future research may be helpful to determine if one hand-off tool is perceived superior to others. A 5-point Likert scale was utilized to access provider's satisfaction pre and post standardized hand-off implementation. While results did not show a statistical significance between a standardized hand-off report and provider satisfaction, results were auspicious. Future projects could be performed over an extended length of time, giving staff the opportunity to solidify the use of a standardized hand­off report in their practice. Improper or missed information can result in preventable patient harm, longer hospital stays, and a lower satisfaction scores for patients as well as providers. The utilization of a standardized hand-off report is the responsibility of all healthcare providers.