Improving physician's hand over among oncology staff using standardized communication tool.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Effective physician communication is crucial for cancer patient safety during hospitalizations.
• Lack of standardized tools for patient handover in oncology leads to miscommunication incidents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a standardized communication tool on improving cancer patient handover.
• To enhance the quality of patient care through better inter-physician communication.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement project utilized the ISBAR (Identify, Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) tool for physician handovers.
• Four sequential Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles were implemented over 16 weeks to refine tool usage.
• Physician compliance and handover receipt acknowledgments were monitored.

Main Results:

• Physician compliance with the standardized handover tool increased from a baseline of 45% to 100% after the fourth PDSA cycle.
• The project demonstrated the feasibility and utility of the ISBAR tool for daily physician communication.
• Positive impacts on healthcare processes and patient outcomes were observed.

Conclusions:

• Standardized communication tools like ISBAR are effective in improving cancer patient handover processes.
• Implementing such tools enhances patient safety and quality of care in oncology settings.
• The study highlights the successful application of PDSA cycles in optimizing healthcare communication strategies.