Perceptions of Barriers to Effective Surgical Handover: A Multi-Disciplinary Survey

Kavanagh DO, Sanfey HA, Harrington C and Dozois EJ

Department of Surgery, Tallaght Hospital, Ireland
Department of Surgery, South Illinois University, USA
Department of Surgical Affairs, RCSI, Ireland
Dept of CRS, Mayo Clinic, USA

^*Correspondance to: Dara O Kavanagh 

 PDF  Full Text DOI: 10.25107/2474-1647.1146

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to examine perceptions of barriers to effective surgical handover among Healthcare professionals at Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester.
Methods: In 2012 healthcare providers across 10 surgical specialties were surveyed.Results: The overall response rate was 48%. 96% agreed that it is an important component of patient care while 74% agreed that an electronic handover tool should be available. There was a significant difference in the views with respect to the need for an electronic handover tool (MLPs vs. residents: 85% vs. 63%: p=0.01). 62% of staff strongly agreed that education is necessary compared to 26% of residents (p=0.0007). 75% of respondents agreed that time constraints is a relevant barrier (p=0.091). 76% of respondents felt that a standardized process could be designed for use across the entire Department of Surgery.Conclusion: It is evident that a module of education and training followed by establishment of a process of handover with standardized structure and content will allow the authors to establish a purpose-built system to optimize surgical handover and improve patient safety.

Keywords

Surgical Handover; Barriers; Surgery

Cite the article

Kavanagh DO, Sanfey HA, Harrington C, Dozois EJ. Perceptions of Barriers to Effective Surgical Handover: A Multi-Disciplinary Survey. Clin Surg. 2016; 1: 1146.