What are covering doctors told about their patients? Analysis of sign-out among internal medicine house staff
BMJ Quality & SafetyPublished 1 August 2009Open access
Leora I. Horwitz, Tannaz Moin, Harlan M. Krumholz, Lin Wang, Elizabeth H. Bradley
Citations106
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TL;DR
The findings suggest that several changes may be required to improve sign-out quality, including standardising key content, minimising sign-outs that do not involve the primary team, templating written sign- outs, emphasising the role of sign- out in maintaining patient safety and fostering a sense of direct responsibility for patients among covering staff.
Abstract
Sign-outs are not uniformly comprehensive and include few questions. The findings suggest that several changes may be required to improve sign-out quality, including standardising key content, minimising sign-outs that do not involve the primary team, templating written sign-outs, emphasising the role of sign-out in maintaining patient safety and fostering a sense of direct responsibility for patients among covering staff.
Keywords
MedicineHealth Professions
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