A Needs Assessment for Development of the TIME Anesthesia Handoff Tool

Standardized handoff is critical to providing safe and effective patient care. Limited studies assess the need for developing a handoff tool for anesthesia providers. The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess the need for a standardized anesthesia handoff tool and to identify the most essential components to develop an anesthesia handoff tool. A descriptive survey design was used. Anesthesia providers were asked to complete an online survey. Fifty-three (64%) of 82 respondents did not currently use a systematic process during anesthesia handoff. Most (73%) believed they were given inadequate information, and 40 (48.8%) sometimes discovered information that was not shared by the prior anesthesia provider. The most frequently provided components by respondents were airway type, airway difficulty, analgesia, anesthetic type, invasive lines, patient medical history, procedure, and vital signs. The most frequently received were airway difficulty, invasive lines, medical history, and procedure. Most participants perceived that anesthesia providers currently provide inadequate handoff. Anesthesia providers indicated the most essential components for effective anesthesia handoff were airway difficulty, invasive lines, medical history, procedure and casespecific concerns, allergies, medications, and plan/ goals. The study findings guided the development of the concise and efficient TIME (transaction, induction, maintenance, emergence) anesthesia handoff tool.