Use of a Checklist for the Postanesthesia Care Unit Patient Handoff

This quality improvement project aimed to evaluate the benefits of implementing a checklist in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) setting to decrease the omission of health information during the handoff from anesthesia to PACU nurses.

Patient handoffs from anesthesia providers were anonymously assessed by PACU nurses before and after the implementation of a handoff checklist with the Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation format.

PACU nurses recorded use of the handoff checklist and if five items of health information were included in the handoff during the preintervention and postintervention phase.

Checklist use increased from 0% to 73% with omitted information decreasing with checklist use: procedure from 19% to 2%, allergies 23% to 4%, input and output 16% to 0%, antiemetic used 21% to 4%, and lines 19% to 11%. Completed handoffs increased from 13% to 82% whereas checklist use remained high, at over 79%, for the 12 weeks after implementation.

The project was successful in implementing a standardized checklist and echoed the success of the articles reviewed. The use of a PACU handoff checklist can improve transfer of care by ensuring the provider receives more pertinent medical information during these transfers.