Human centered design approach improves OR-to-ICU handoffs

Editor's Note

A human centered design approach to OR-to-ICU patient handoffs led to improvements in the patient handover process in this study.

Researchers uncovered technical and communication flaws when receiving postoperative patients at the Durham, North Carolina, Veterans Affairs Medical Center surgical ICU. The handoff process was redesigned to address the flaws.

Results showed that for 49 preintervention and 49 postintervention handoffs, the information transfer score and number of interruptions did not differ significantly. However, staff workload and team behavior scores improved significantly. Handoff duration was not prolonged by the new process, and participants were significantly more satisfied with the new process. 

Background: Patient handovers (handoffs) following surgery have often been characterized by poor teamwork, unclear procedures, unstructured processes, and distractions. A study was conducted to apply a human-centered approach to the redesign of operating room (OR)-to-ICU patient handovers in a broad surgical ICU (SICU) population.