PATIENT SAFETY: Handoffs between ICU and OR

There is a lot of literature describing problems with, and best practices for, the transfer of care of post-surgical patients moving into the intensive care unit setting.  However, after conducting a comprehensive literature search, the authors of this brief commentary found no comparable literature about the reverse type of handoff – for patients going from the special care unit into surgery.  They suggest that a checklist be adopted and give an example of one such checklist.  They also recommend that a verbal handoff be required.

What do I like about this article?  The authors are authoritative (Mount Sinai and Johns Hopkins medical schools) and I like the actual example of the handoff checklist.  Also, I like it that they appear to be filling a gap in the medical literature – at least at the time that they wrote this commentary.

Source: Evans, A.S., Yee, M.S., and Hogue, C.W. (2014, Mar.). Often overlooked problems with handoffs: From the intensive care unit to the operating room.  Anesthesia & Analgesia, 118(3), 687-689.  Click here for free full text: http://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/Fulltext/2014/03000/Often_Overlooked_Problems_with_Handoffs___From_the.31.aspx  Posted by AHA Resource Center (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org