Development of a Standardized Nursing Handoff With Tablet Technology: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Abstract

Background: Nursing handoff of complete and accurate information is critical for patient safety yet is often difficult to achieve with consistency between nursing departments. Objective: This quality improvement project aims to describe the development and piloting of a standardized handoff tool for administration by computer tablet for nursing report. Methods: This descriptive quality improvement initiative was conducted in an 885-bed Level I trauma center in the Southeast Region of the United States. The study was completed in three phases. First, emergency department and trauma intensive care unit nurses were surveyed to determine handoff barriers and best practices. Second, the survey information was used to develop a standardized handoff tool incorporating tablet technology. Third, staff pilot testing was performed, followed by a final survey to ascertain staff feedback on the tool. Results: A total of n = 120 nurses completed the surveys, and pilot testing was conducted on n = 177 patient handoffs. Ninety-five percent of nurses expressed satisfaction with the tool and 65% with the tablet. Conclusion: This study supported using a standardized handoff tool between the emergency department and trauma intensive care unit and substantiated the benefits of using a tablet for face-to-face communication.