Medication communication during handover interactions in specialty practice settings.

Area of Science:

• Nursing and healthcare communication
• Patient safety research
• Medication management

Background:

• Effective communication during patient handover is critical for safe, continuous care.
• Medication information exchange between healthcare professionals and nurses is a key component of this process.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the nature and extent of medication information communicated during handover in specialty hospital settings.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory qualitative observational study was conducted.
• Data were collected over 130 hours across four specialty settings (cardiothoracic, intensive care, emergency, oncology).
• Thematic analysis and a medication communication model were applied to 185 observed handovers.

Main Results:

• Observed handovers revealed partial and incomplete medication regimen details.
• Communication focused on auditing the medication administration record, with limited specific medication content.
• Incoming nurses seldom asked clarifying questions about medications during handover.

Conclusions:

• Handover interactions frequently lack comprehensive medication information, impacting patient safety.
• Improving transparency, completeness, and accuracy of medication communication is vital for quality care in specialty settings.
• Clear, explicit communication of all prescribed medication details, minimizing jargon, supports informed clinical decision-making and patient safety.