MetaVision results
January 2015 | Anesthesia & Analgesia 2015
Massachusetts General Hospital performed a prospective observational assessment to compare relay and retention of critical patient information between the outgoing and incoming anaesthesiologist before and after introduction of an electronic handoff checklist. The goal of the checklist, which was implemented via MetaVision, was to prompt discussion and improve communication at the transfer of care. The checklist contained the minimum amount of essential information required at handoff, and access to the checklist was designed to fit into the standard handoff process. The authors found that relay and retention of specific information improved with use of the checklist, with major improvements occurring in the areas of intraoperative medications and fluid balance, and communication. Use of the checklist, which was voluntary, was sustained at nearly 75%, and clinicians felt that quality of communication and identification of perioperative concerns at the end-of-shift handoff were significantly better after the introduction of the checklist. The study found that retention of information was also improved with use of the checklist. The study authors assess that “It is likely that some of the items on the checklist showed significant increase in transfer as a result of being brought forward from other parts of the anesthesia record, a unique benefit of an AIMS-based checklist…With use of the electronic checklist, information for patient weight, airway management, IV access, estimated blood loss, urine output, and antibiotic administration was displayed from previous entries in the record, and several of these items showed statistically significant improvements in information transfer with use of the checklist.” Data on checklist usage were collected from MetaVision.
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