The importance of preoperative transition of care
assessment blood safety handover preoperative care Jun 16, 2025
Mind the Gap – Preoperative Transition of Care 🩺
Transition of care and handover of patients occurs frequently and at multiple points throughout the perioperative journey. These moments are high risk ⚠️ for patients, with the potential for vital information to be missed or miscommunicated.
The first of these high-risk moments is the preoperative handover and check-in. The aim of preoperative handover of care and assessment is to identify risks and vulnerabilities of the patient as they begin their perioperative journey. Major factors in communication errors at this point of care include:
🔹 Competing tasks
🔹 Time constraints
🔹 Patient complexities
🔹 Increasing workload
🔹 List changes/additions
🔹 Crisis/emergency situations ⚠️
Understanding the existing vulnerabilities or “red flags” that patients face is a key element for nursing staff to grasp the importance of the information they are giving/receiving. Having this existing framework can also help to reduce cognitive burden 🧠 and ensure that further unique vulnerabilities specific to each patient are easily identified and addressed.
The perioperative nurse involved in the preoperative handover of patient care is an important link between where the patient has come from (ward, from home, hospital transfer) and the perioperative staff involved in the patient’s care throughout their time in surgery. It is critical then that all relevant and appropriate information is gathered, documented and communicated 📝 to the broader team to minimise the risk of harm to the patient.
Strategies that help to reduce the risk of error or miscommunication include:
🔹 Structured handover tools (such as ISBAR)
🔹 Checklists 📋
🔹 Minimising interruptions
🔹 Avoiding multi-tasking
🔹 Day planners or checklists to prioritise tasks
🔹 Minimising list/theatre changes
🔹 Closed loop communication 🔁
Build Knowledge ✅
Improve Safety ✅
References:
ANZCA (2024) PG07: Guideline on preanaesthesia consultation and patient preparation. Accessed from https://www.anzca.edu.au/getContentAsset/d4eb4cab-69e6-4228-8568-bbc911c6c505/80feb437-d24d-46b8-a858-4a2a28b9b970/PG07-Pre-anaesthesia-consultation-2024.pdf?language=en
Malley, A., Kenner, C., Kim, T., & Blakeney, B. (2015). The role of the nurse and the preoperative assessment in patient transitions. AORN journal, 102(2), 181.e1–181.e1819. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aorn.2015.06.004
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