Implementation of a Standardized Handoff of Anesthetized Patients

Communication errors result in substantial perioperative morbidity and mortality. More than 70% of medical errors are related to poor communication. Despite practice guidelines and regulatory directives to standardize patient handoffs, evidence shows that the transfer of patients by anesthesia providers remains informal and brief. The purpose of this evidence-based practice improvement project was to implement a standardized handoff to improve the quality and continuity of the transfer of information, perceptions of patient safety, and healthcare worker satisfaction. Twenty CRNAs were selected using purposive nonprobability snowball sampling to create a Team Strategies to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) change team. Participants completed an anonymous preinter-vention survey regarding their handoffs of anesthetized patients. Education was provided regarding the problem and current practice guidelines. The team modified and adopted their own version of Wright's PATIENT mnemonic, which was implemented for 2 weeks. The change team completed an anonymous postintervention survey. Preintervention and postintervention survey data were analyzed using paired t test with a range of P < .0001 to .0003, demonstrating statistically significant improvements in the quality and continuity of the transfer of information, perceptions of patient safety, and healthcare worker satisfaction.