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Team cognition in handoffs: relating system factors, team cognition functions and outcomes in two handoff processes.

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Wooldridge AR, Carayon P, Hoonakker PLT, et al. Hum Factors. 2022;Epub Jun 5.

Handoffs between inpatient care settings represent a vulnerable time for patients. This qualitative study explores how team cognition occurs during care transitions and interprofessional handoffs between inpatient settings and the influence of sociotechnical systems, such as communication workflows or electronic heath record-based interfaces) influence team cognition. Participants highlighted how interprofessional handoffs can both enhance (e.g., information exchange) and hinder (e.g., logistic challenges and imprecise communication) team cognition.

Missed nursing care in the critical care unit, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a comparative cross-sectional study.

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Falk A-C, Nymark C, Göransson KE, et al. Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2022:103276.

Needed nursing care that is delayed, partially completed, or not completed at all is known as missed nursing care (MNC). Researchers surveyed critical care registered nurses during two phases of the COVID-19 pandemic about recent missed nursing care, perceived quality of care, and contributing factors. There were no major changes in the types of, or reasons for, MNC compared to the reference survey completed in fall 2019.

Patient handoffs.

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Arora V, Farnan J. UpToDate. June 15, 2022.

The change of an inpatient’s location or handoffs between teams can fragment care due to communication, information, and knowledge gaps. This review examines in-patient transition safety issues and summarizes system level, sender, and receiver tactics to reduce patient vulnerability during handoffs.

Analysis of readmissions in a mobile integrated health transitional care program using root cause analysis and common cause analysis.

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Buitrago I, Seidl KL, Gingold DB, et al. J Healthc Qual. 2022;44:169-177.

Reducing hospital 30-day readmissions is seen as a way to improve safety and reduce costs. Baltimore City mobile integrated health and community paramedicine (MIH-CP) was designed to improve transitional care from hospital to home. After one year in operation, MIH-CP performed a chart review to determine causes of readmission among patients in the program. Root cause analysis indicated that at least one social determinant of health (e.g., health literacy) played a role in preventable readmissions; the program was modified to improve transitional care.

Identifying Safety Events in the Prehospital Setting

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May 16, 2022

This piece focuses on measuring and monitoring patient safety in the prehospital setting.

Barriers and enablers to nurses' use of harm prevention strategies for older patients in hospital: a cross-sectional survey.

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Redley B, Taylor N, Hutchinson AM. J Adv Nurs. 2022;Epub Apr 22.

Nurses play a critical role in reducing preventable harm among inpatients. This cross-sectional survey of nurses working in general medicine wards identified both enabling factors (behavioral regulation, perceived capabilities, and environmental context/resources) and barriers (intentions, perceived consequences, optimism, and professional role) to implementing comprehensive harm prevention programs for older adult inpatients.

The impact of "missed nursing care" or "care not done" on adults in health care: a rapid review for the Consensus Development Project.

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Willis E, Brady C. Nurs Open. 2022;9:862-871.

Incomplete nursing care can negatively affect care quality and safety. This rapid review found that missed or omitted nursing care in adults contributes to increased mortality, adverse events, and clinical deterioration. Included studies cited several causes (e.g., environmental factors, staffing levels and skill mix) as well as solutions (e.g., education, process redesign).

The University of Michigan Emergency Critical Care Center (EC3) Provides Timely Intensive Care to Critically Ill Patients in the Emergency Department

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April 7, 2022

An increasing volume of patients presenting for acute care can create a need for more ICU beds and intensivists and lead to longer wait times and boarding of critically ill patients in the emergency department (ED).¹ Data suggest that boarding of critically ill patients for more than 6 hours in the emergency department leads to poorer outcomes and increased mortality.^2,3 To address this issue, University of Michigan Health, part of Michigan Medicine, developed an ED-based ICU, the first of its kind, in its 1,000-bed adult hospital.

What are we missing? The quality of intraoperative handover before and after introduction of a checklist.

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Lane S, Gross M, Arzola C, et al. Can J Anaesth. Epub 2022 Mar 22.

Intraoperative anesthesia handovers can increase patient safety risks. Based on video-recorded handovers and anesthetic records, researchers at this tertiary care center found that introduction of an intraoperative handover checklist improved handover completeness, which may decrease risk for adverse events.

A Case of Mistaken Capacity: Why A Thorough Psychosocial History Can Improve Care.

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March 31, 2022

This Spotlight Case describes an older man incidentally diagnosed with prostate cancer, with metastases to the bone. He was seen in clinic one month after that discharge, without family present, and scheduled for outpatient biopsy. He showed up to the biopsy without adequate preparation and so it was rescheduled. He did not show up to the following four oncology appointments.

Patient harm and institutional avoidability of out-of-hours discharge from intensive care: an analysis using mixed methods.

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Vollam S, Gustafson O, Morgan L, et al. Crit Care Med. 2022;Epub Mar 7.

This mixed-method study explored the reasons why out-of-hours discharges from the ICU to the ward, and nighttime coverage are associated with poor outcomes. Based on qualitative interviews with patients, family members, and staff involved in the ICU discharge process, this study found that out-of-hours discharges are considered unsafe due to nighttime staffing levels and skill mix. Out-of-hours discharges often occurred prematurely, without adequate handovers, and involved patients who were not physiologically stable, and at risk for clinical deterioration.

Frequency of diagnostic errors in the neonatal intensive care unit: a retrospective cohort study.

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Shafer GJ, Singh H, Thomas EJ, et al. J Perinatol. 2022;Epub Mar 4.

Patients in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at risk for serious patient safety threats. In this retrospective review of 600 consecutive inborn NICU admissions, researchers found that the frequency of diagnostic errors among inborn NICU patients during the first seven days of admission was 6.2%.

Factors associated with missed nursing care and nurse-assessed quality of care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Labrague LJ, Santos JAA, Fronda DC. J Nurs Manag. 2022;30:62-70.

Missed or incomplete nursing care can adversely affect care quality and safety. Based on survey responses from 295 frontline nurses in the Philippines, this study explored factors contributing to missed nursing care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings suggest that nurses most frequently missed tasks such as patient surveillance, comforting patients, skin care, ambulation, and oral hygiene. The authors suggest that increasing nurse staffing, adequate use of personal protective equipment, and improved safety culture may reduce instances of missed care.

Care transition of trauma patients: processes with articulation work before and after handoff.

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Wooldridge AR, Carayon P, Hoonakker PLT, et al. Appl Ergon. 2022;98:103606.

Care transitions can increase the risk of patient safety events. Using the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model, this study explored care transitions between operating rooms and inpatient critical care units and the importance of articulation work (i.e., preparation and follow-up activities related to transitions) to ensure safe transitions.

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Bourne RS, Jennings JK, Panagioti M, et al. BMJ Qual Saf. 2022;Epub Jan 18.

Patients transferring from the intensive care unit (ICU) to the hospital ward may experience medication errors. This systematic review examined medication-related interventions on the impact of medication errors in ICU patients transferring to the hospital ward. Seventeen studies were included with five identified intervention components. Multi-component studies based on staff education and guidelines were effective at achieving almost four times more deprescribing on inappropriate medications by the time of discharge. Recommendations for improving transfers are included.

Psychometric properties of the perinatal missed care survey and missed care during labor and birth.

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Lyndon A, Simpson KR, Spetz J, et al. Appl Nurs Res. 2022;63:151516.

Missed nursing care appears to be associated with higher rates of adverse events. More than 3,600 registered nurses (RNs) were surveyed about missed care during labor and birth in the United States. Three aspects of nursing care were reported missing by respondents: thorough review of prenatal records, missed timely documentation of maternal-fetal assessments, and failure to monitor input and output.

A simulation systems testing program using HFMEA methodology can effectively identify and mitigate latent safety threats for a new on-site helipad.

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Holmes J, Chipman M, Barbour T, et al. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2022;48:12-24.

Air medical transport carries unique patient safety risks. In this study, researchers used simulation training and healthcare failure mode and effect analysis (HFMEA) to identify latent safety threats related to patient transport via helicopter. This approach identified 31 latent safety threats (18 were deemed critical) related to care coordination, facilities, equipment, and devices.

Can SBAR be implemented with high fidelity and does it improve communication between healthcare workers? A systematic review.

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Lo L, Rotteau L, Shojania KG. BMJ Open. 2021;11:e055247.

Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (SBAR) is a mnemonic technique used to avoid communication failures during handoffs. This systematic review found that fidelity with SBAR is highest in classroom settings, but that studies in clinical contexts either did not achieve sufficient improvements in fidelity or did not assess fidelity.

Staffing, teamwork and scope of practice: analysis of the association with patient safety in the context of rehabilitation.

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Jomaa C, Dubois C‐A, Caron I, et al. J Adv Nurs. 2021;Epub Nov 30.

Nurses play a critical role in ensuring patient safety. This study explored the association between the organization of nursing services and patient safety incidents in rehabilitation units. Findings highlight the key role of appropriate nurse staffing in reducing the incidence of events such as falls and medication errors

Examining the meaning of the language used to communicate the nursing hand-off.

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Galatzan BJ, Carrington JM. Res Nurs Health. 2021;44:833-843.

During handoffs, nurses are exposed to a variety of interruptions and distractions which may lead to cognitive overload. Using natural language processing, researchers analyzed ten audio-recorded change of shift handoffs to estimate the cognitive load experienced by nurses. Nurses’ use of concise language has the potential to decrease cognitive overload and improve patient outcomes.

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