Patient safety relies on effective and efficient communication among healthcare providers. Tools, such as standardized checklists, ensure information sharing in a consistent, predictable format. In the perioperative setting, where handoffs occur at several points and among various disciplines, high reliability is essential. This systematic review focused on the impact of standardized communication practices on perioperative staff satisfaction as it relates to sustainability of the new practice. The electronic databases PubMed and Google Scholar were used. Six articles met inclusion for the systematic review and of these six, four were determined to be of high quality through the application of The CASE Worksheet. The handoff tools implemented in these four studies were the electronic anesthesia information management system (AIMS), I-PASS mnemonic that described the illness, patient summary, action list, situation awareness and synthesis by receiver, Peri-op Handoff Protocol and a variation of the ‘Surgical Safety Checklist’ originally developed by WHO. Results of this systematic review suggest that these standardized communication methods are effective in improving perioperative staff satisfaction. Further research may prove helpful to determine if one handoff tool design is superior to the others. While future research could be performed to provide a larger sample size, the limited data gathered from this systematic review shows promising results. Implementing a standardized approach to perioperative communication and patient handoff has been shown in these studies to be beneficial in terms of staff satisfaction. Furthermore, it would be valuable to examine the indirect impact these communication tools have on patient care. Healthcare providers have the responsibility and opportunity to improve patient care through the adoption of standardized communication processes.
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