Miscommunication during patient hand-offs can lead to serious patient safety issues, according to a Newswise report examining these issues at military hospitals and the technology these hospitals implemented for improvement.
Here are five things to know about patient hand-offs:
1. An estimated 80 percent of serious medical errors come from miscommunication between caregivers during patient transfers.
2. Caregivers transmit information during patient hand-offs and the receivers must accept the new information.
3. Defective hand-offs can also delay treatment or lead to increase hospital length of stay.
4. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences recently implemented the I-PASS system for improved communication during hand-offs. The hospitals reduced injuries due to medical errors by 30 percent after implementing I-PASS.
5. The Nursing Center journal recommends a few tips for improving hand-offs, including:
• Verify the receiver got the information through repeat-backs or read-backs
• Receivers should review historical data on the patient
• Eliminate interruptions during hand-offs