References
The Education Working Group of the Perioperative Multidisciplinary Handoff Committee has had a productive few months. Their manuscript entitled “Enablers and Barriers to Multicenter Perioperative Handoff Collaboration: Lessons Learned from the I-PASS Team” was recently published in Anesthesia & Analgesia as an Open Mind article. The article discusses the importance of appropriately structured and performed handoffs in the perioperative period and highlights the challenges associated with standardizing perioperative handoffs across institutions.
The article provides an overview of the enablers and barriers described by the I-PASS team in the context of perioperative handoffs. Detailing the multi-disciplinary nature of the perioperative environment, the article goes on to discuss how anesthesiologists, in partnership with surgical and nursing colleagues can implement handoff practices that result in improved communication.
Members of the education committee were also to the successful AHRQ HERO Collaborative Research Conference. The HERO Conference was a two-day, innovative, design studio workshop aimed at furthering the efforts of handoff and communication research. The conference allowed Education Working Group members to network with colleagues from across the country with a wide range of backgrounds. During the conference, members participated in the development of short- and long-term planning and prioritization exercises to further the agenda of perioperative handoff research. Most notably, multidisciplinary conversations were held to identify barriers and enables of anesthesia resident handoff education and avenues to improve handoff education were identified.
The multidisciplinary collaborations developed during the meeting have led to ongoing collaboration on submissions for the upcoming Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety special edition devoted to Perioperative Handoffs.