Hand-off communication: a requisite for perioperative patient safety.

A model for building a standardized hand-off protocol.

BACKGROUND The Joint Commission has made a "standardized approach to hand-off communications" a National Patient Safety Goal. METHOD An interactive 90-minute workshop (hand-off clinic) was developed in 2005 to (1) develop a standardized process for the handoff, (2) create a checklist of critical patient content, and (3) plan for dissemination and training. CONCLUSION To date, 7 of 10 reside...

Propofol allergy: assessing for patient risks.

Allergies to certain foods such as soybeans and eggs contraindicate the use of propofol, a short-acting hypnotic medication used by many anesthesia care providers. Understanding the safe use and handling of propofol and communicating known patient allergies to all surgical team members is crucial to providing safe perioperative care. The perioperative nurse's preoperative assessment supports an...

Patient safety: staff safety--hand in hand?

Protocols for Management of Underserved Patients Undergoing Arthroplasty: A National Survey of Safety Net Hospitals

Background: Although it has been shown that perioperative protocols enhance arthroplasty care and safety, it isnot known how prevalent their use is in safety net hospitals, which operate with a mandate to treat the poor andunderserved. Understanding the elements currently included in standard perioperative arthroplasty protocols at variousinstitutions may help guide future interventions and pol...

Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare releases targeted solutions tool for hand-off communications.

On June 27, 2012, the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare launched its newest project in the Targeted Solutions ToolTM (TST) suite: the Hand-off Communications TST. This new tool is designed to help health care organizations avoid communication-related miscues and errors during the process of passing necessary and critical patient information from one caregiver (or team of careg...