A qualitative study of patient and provider experiences during preoperative care transitions

To explore the issues and challenges of care transitions in the preoperative environment.

Ineffective transitions play a role in a majority of serious medical errors. There is a paucity of research related to the preoperative arena and the multiple inherent transitions in care that occur there.

Qualitative descriptive design was used.

Semistructured interviews were conducted in a 975-bed academic medical centre.

A total of 30 providers and 10 preoperative patients participated. Themes that arose were as follows: (1) need for clarity of purpose of preoperative care, (2) care coordination, (3) interprofessional boundaries of care and (4) inadequate time and resources.

Effective transitions in the preoperative environment require that providers bridge scope of practice barriers to promote good teamwork. Preoperative care that is a product of well-informed providers and patients can improve the entire perioperative care process and potentially influence postoperative patient outcomes.

Nurses are well positioned to bridge the gaps within transitions of care and accordingly affect health outcomes.