Barriers to handoff communication in ASCs

Editor's Note

Patient handoffs in ambulatory surgery centers are commonly interrupted by distractions that put patients at risk, and nearly 50% might be preventable, this study finds.

Handoffs with communication distractions were rated lower in overall quality and associated with a greater number of errors (ie,  transfer of incorrect information).

Monitors and equipment were the most common distractors at 19%, followed by direct patient care, transient staff, and patient communication at 16% each. Other barriers included staff conversation (12%), auditory distraction (9%), role clarity (6%), charting (3%), and family communication (3%).

Just like in the operating room (OR), patient handoffs in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) are commonly derailed by communication distractions, which put patients’ safety at risk, according to investigators at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU) in Camden, N.J. “We had previously looked into barriers to handoff communication in our hospital’s operating room,” said Erin W.