DS Accreditation Update: Free tool improves patient handoffs
Free tool improves patient handoffs
Ambulatory surgery providers looking for ways to prevent miscommunication and improve their internal and external patient handoffs now have a free, proven tool to make their job easier. The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare recently released a new Hand-off Communications Targeted Solutions Tool (TST) to assist organizations with passing necessary and critical information about a patient from one caregiver to the next, or from one team of caregivers to another.
Using the tool and the solutions from the center' s Hand-off Communications Project, healthcare organizations reported an increase in patient and family satisfaction, staff satisfaction, and successful transfers of patients. One healthcare organization reduced readmissions by 50%.
Jacksonville (FL) Center for Endoscopy is one of the organizations that piloted the TST. "The scope of our project was from the preop nurse report to the anesthesia provider," says Cynthia Hall, RN, administrator. "Our biggest lessons learned were that nurses and anesthesia providers were faced with the same challenges during patient handoffs, and that interruption was the major cause of delay during handoffs."
The TST was created to measure the effectiveness of handoffs within an organization or to another facility, and provide proven solutions to improve performance. Healthcare organizations were able to complete their Hand-off Communications Project in about four months, using minimal resources. In fact, no staff was added, and only minor changes were made to the roles and responsibilities of existing staff. To access the tool, go to http://bit.ly/OZOG3s.
mbulatory surgery providers looking for ways to prevent miscommunication and improve their internal and external patient handoffs now have a free, proven tool to make their job easier.Subscribe Now for Access
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