RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Structured handoff checklists improve clinical measures in patients discharged from the neurointensive care unit
JF Neurology: Clinical Practice
FD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
SP 42
OP 49
DO 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000094
VO 5
IS 1
A1 Elizabeth A. Coon
A1 Neha M. Kramer
A1 Rachel R. Fabris
A1 David B. Burkholder
A1 James P. Klaas
A1 Jonathan Graff-Radford
A1 S. Arthur Moore
A1 Eelco F.M. Wijdicks
A1 Jeffrey W. Britton
A1 Lyell K. Jones, Jr
YR 2015
UL http://cp.neurology.org/content/5/1/42.abstract
AB While up to 80% of medical errors may result from poor communication at clinical transitions of care, there has been relatively little study of the effect of standardized communication tools on clinical quality measures. We prospectively examined the effect of a standardized handoff checklist on clinical outcomes for patients dismissed from the neurointensive care unit. We found that the checklist resulted in significant reductions in patients transferred with inaccurate medication reconciliation and unnecessary urinary catheters. Participating physicians were surveyed and generally viewed the handoff checklist favorably. Standardized communication tools such as checklists may play a useful role in reducing medical errors related to communication between patient care teams.