Improving patient handover between teams using a business improvement model: PDSA cycle.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Operations

Background:

• Medical admission units face pressure to transfer patients, leading to communication gaps.
• Inadequate patient handover from medical admission units to wards was a frequent issue.
• A quality improvement project was initiated to address these handover deficiencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To improve the process of patient handover from medical admission units.
• To reduce the number of patients transferred without adequate or any handover.
• To enhance patient safety and care continuity.

Main Methods:

• A 'Plan, Do, Study, Act' (PDSA) cycle was employed for improvement.
• Standard handover procedures were developed and disseminated.
• Interventions included redesigning documentation and enforcing handover completion.

Main Results:

• Initial implementation showed no change in handover metrics.
• Redesigning the post-take ward round sheet and enforcing handover documentation improved the process.
• After six months, patient arrivals without handover decreased significantly.

Conclusions:

• The 'Plan, Do, Study, Act' model is effective for improving hospital processes.
• Standardized handover procedures and documentation are crucial for patient safety.
• Targeted interventions can successfully address communication breakdowns in patient transfers.