Patient Handoffs in Obstetrics and Gynecology: A Vital Link in Patient Safety

Inadequate patient handoffs have been an area of focus for patient safety improvement. Insufficient communication and risks or “shortcuts” taken by staff members during handoffs could negatively affect the safety of patients in a department of obstetrics and gynecology. Other factors that contribute to inadequate handoffs are the caregiver feeling fatigued or stressed, level of urgency, volume of information, language barriers, noise, lighting, ambiguity of describing treatment, not allotting enough time for questions asked, and/or interruptions from other staff members. There have been several methods developed for improving the handoff process, such as the mnemonic devices SBAR, SHARQ, I PASS THE BATON, and the 5 P's. A new method for improving the quality of patient handoffs has been developed and presented in this article. It is a mnemonic device entitled “HANDOFFS”. It covers key aspects of what a handoff process should entail. Teamwork is essential to effective communication, and by using a mnemonic such as this, team members can work together in a more positive and accessible environment that will result in improved patient safety.

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P4342How burnout affects errors among physicians: meta-analysis

European Heart Journal ◽

10.1093/eurheartj/ehz745.0750 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R Olszewski ◽

J Owoc ◽

M Manczak ◽

M Tombarkiewicz

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

Quality Of Care ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Healthcare Delivery ◽

Care Patient ◽

Safety Improvement ◽

Improvement Programs ◽

Key Aspects ◽

Key Terms

Abstract Burnout among physician is a growing and widespread phenomenon that seriously affects various aspects of healthcare delivery. A growing number of studies suggest that it significantly impacts quality of patient care and safety in various ways. This meta-analysis takes a narrowed approach to estimate association of burnout with self-perceived medical errors. Purpose To examine and quantify an overall effect of burnout on self-perceived errors among physicians. Methods The PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases were searched using various combinations of key terms: burnout, error, quality of care, patient safety. The inclusion criteria focused on prevalence of burnout among physicians and their self-reported errors in quantitative, observational studies that measured prevalence of self-reported errors in relation to physician burnout. We used Odds Ratio (OR) with 95% CI in the statistical analysis. Results The meta-analysis eventually covered 19,932 physicians from 10 studies (Tab. 1). The overall effect of burnout on self-reported errors was 2.72 (OR; 95% CI, 2.19–3.37) for burnout vs non-burnout physicians (Fig. 1). In none of the analysed studies was the effect of overall burnout neutral or negative. Table 1. Characteristics of studies in the meta-analysis Study Year No. of physicians OR (95% CI) p weight % Shanafelt 1 2002 115 5.37 (1.71–16.81) 0.0039 3,02% Fahrenkopf 2008 123 3.68 (1.03–13.15) 0.0452 3,42% Toral-Villanueva 2009 312 8.90 (3.97–19.95) <0.001 5,26% Klein 2010 1,311 2.07 (1.50–2.86) <0.001 14,02% Tawfik 2018 6,695 3.25 (2.70–3.92) <0.001 17.73% O'Connor 2017 168 2.16 (1.08–4.30) 0.029 6.58% Baer 2017 258 7.32 (2.03–26.42) 0.002 2.47% Shanafelt 2 2010 7,905 2.34 (2.00–2.73) <0.001 18.42% Oliveira 2013 1,508 1.92 (1.44–2.56) <0.001 14.97% Wen 2016 1,537 2.79 (2.03–3.83) <0.001 14.11% Overall 19932 2.72 (2.19–3.37) 0.ehz745.0750 100.00% Figure 1. Associations between burnout and errors. Conclusions This study provides evidence that burnout among physicians increases the likelihood of errors and thus may seriously affect patient safety at hospitals. The results suggest that it may be one of the key aspects in terms of patient safety and quality of care and should be considered a priority in patient safety improvement programs and policies.

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Assessing patient safety culture at the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2019

Tạp chí Y học Dự phòng ◽

10.51403/0868-2836/2020/125 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 (9) ◽

pp. 83-90

Author(s):

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao ◽

Dao Anh Son ◽

Tran Thi Huong Tra ◽

Dao Trung Nguyen ◽

Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

Safety Culture ◽

Patient Safety Culture ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Obstetrics And Gynecology ◽

Healthcare Staff ◽

National Hospital ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Staff Members

A cross-sectional study was conducted on primary healthcare staff working at the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology from August 2019 to April 2020. We aimed to assess healthcare staff members’ awareness on patient safety culture (PSC) using a self-administered Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire (HSPSC). The overall PSC awareness was only 60.4%. 9 out of 12 PSC items were considered PSC strength dimensions. Areas with room for improvement include “Non-punitive Response to Errors” (50.7%), “Frequency of events reported” (41.2%), and “Organisational learning - continuous improvement” (67.8%). It is necessary to strengthen the quality of training on the safety of the entire staff, encourage communication and report on medical errors to improve the quality of health care.

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Engaging junior paediatric trainees in patient safety improvement projects

Archives of Disease in Childhood ◽

10.1136/archdischild-2012-301885.408 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 97 (Suppl 1) ◽

pp. A174.2-A174

Author(s):

F McHugh ◽

S Robertson ◽

K Pryde ◽

S Williams

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

Safety Improvement ◽

Patient Safety Improvement

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Point of Care Communication-A Key Strategy for Patient Safety Improvement

American Journal of Infection Control ◽

10.1016/j.ajic.2014.03.060 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 42 (6) ◽

pp. S18

Author(s):

Dawn R. Major ◽

Bev McFarlane

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Safety Improvement ◽

Patient Safety Improvement

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Leading Quality and Patient Safety Improvement in Norwegian Hospitals

Researching Patient Safety and Quality in Healthcare ◽

10.1201/9781315605609-12 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 161-175

Author(s):

Inger Johanne Bergerød ◽

Siri Wiig

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

Safety Improvement ◽

Quality And Patient Safety ◽

Patient Safety Improvement

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Implementation of a multimodal patient safety improvement program “SafetyLEAP” in intensive care units

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance ◽

10.1108/ijhcqa-04-2017-0067 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 140-149 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Chantal Backman ◽

Paul C. Hebert ◽

Alison Jennings ◽

David Neilipovitz ◽

Omar Choudhri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Quality Improvement ◽

Intensive Care Units ◽

Audit And Feedback ◽

Improvement Program ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Content Type ◽

Safety Improvement ◽

Patient Safety Improvement

Purpose Patient safety remains a top priority in healthcare. Many organizations have developed systems to monitor and prevent harm, and have invested in different approaches to quality improvement. Despite these organizational efforts to better detect adverse events, efficient resolution of safety problems remains a significant challenge. The authors developed and implemented a comprehensive multimodal patient safety improvement program called SafetyLEAP. The term “LEAP” is an acronym that highlights the three facets of the program including: a Leadership and Engagement approach; Audit and feedback; and a Planned improvement intervention. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the implementation of the SafetyLEAP program in the intensive care units (ICUs) of three large hospitals. Design/methodology/approach A comparative case study approach was used to compare and contrast the adherence to each component of the SafetyLEAP program. The study was conducted using a convenience sample of three (n=3) ICUs from two provinces. Two reviewers independently evaluated major adherence metrics of the SafetyLEAP program for their completeness. Analysis was performed for each individual case, and across cases. Findings A total of 257 patients were included in the study. Overall, the proportion of the SafetyLEAP tasks completed was 64.47, 100, and 26.32 percent, respectively. ICU nos 1 and 2 were able to identify opportunities for improvement, follow a quality improvement process and demonstrate positive changes in patient safety. The main factors influencing adherence were the engagement of a local champion, competing priorities, and the identification of appropriate resources. Practical implications The SafetyLEAP program allowed for the identification of processes that could result in patient harm in the ICUs. However, the success in improving patient safety was dependent on the engagement of the care teams. Originality/value The authors developed an evidence-based approach to systematically and prospectively detect, improve, and evaluate actions related to patient safety.

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