The Post-Operative Handoff: Perceptions and Preferences of Pediatric Hospitalists and Surgeons

Area of Science:

• Healthcare communication
• Patient safety
• Surgical outcomes

Background:

• Postoperative communication errors lead to patient harm and increased healthcare costs.
• Current standards for postoperative handoffs to inpatient units are lacking.
• Effective communication is crucial for seamless patient care transitions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare pediatric hospitalist and surgeon experiences and preferences regarding postoperative handoff content and timing.
• To identify key elements for a standardized postoperative handoff process.
• To improve communication between surgical and hospitalist teams.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional, multisite survey of pediatric hospitalists and surgeons was conducted.
• A novel survey tool assessed perceived communication frequency and essentialness of 37 handoff elements using Likert scales.
• Data on perceived and preferred handoff timing were collected and analyzed.

Main Results:

• 13 handoff elements were rated as essential by over half of both hospitalist and surgeon respondents.
• Surgeons perceived significantly more handoff elements mentioned than hospitalists (P < .05).
• Hospitalists preferred handoff before postanesthesia care unit discharge, while surgeons preferred immediate postoperative handoff.

Conclusions:

• Identification of 13 core elements can guide the development of a standardized postoperative handoff checklist.
• Standardized checklists can improve communication between surgeons and hospitalists.
• Future research should focus on checklist validation and auditing handoff practices.