Form for a structured patient's information handover - creation by action research and modified Delphi method

Abstract

Failures in communication have been identified as a major cause of preventable medical errors and of poor handovers resulting in adverse effects for the patient. Miscommunication and information loss during handover are acknowledged as contributing factors to adverse events.

Patient safety can be improved by ameliorating the handover process and by standardising the processes. The quality of patient handover varies, the chief differences being in the handover method, language, level of education and expertise.

For this reason, the Prague Emergency Medical Services decided to standardise the process of information handover from pre-hospital to in-hospital care. This paper presents a process for choosing and creating a system of structured information handover using action research and the modified Delphi method.

The presented system contains essential information for identifying the pre-hospital care provider and the crew, the basic disease or injury, the patient's vital signs and the treatment. The system is tailored to both low and high priority patients.