Improving Signout Accuracy and Information Delivery in the Emergency Department (SAID-ED)

The University of Texas System (UT)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Medical Errors Related to Emergency Department Sign Out

Treatments: Other: standardized sign out process

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01859286

HSC-MS-11-0655

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigators sought to determine if implementing a standardized sign out process would reduce the amount of medical errors related to patient sign out. The standardized process included the following interventions: implementation of a data resident to review patients lab values, vital signs, radiologist results, and orders in real time, conducting sign out in a standardized location and using the attending physician as an "interruption manager." The investigators defined medical errors related to sign out as any piece of information was incorrectly reported or omitted during sign out that caused a change in treatment or disposition discussed during sign out. The investigators hypothesis was that implementing a standardized sign out process would lead to a decrease in the amount of sign out related errors.

Enrollment: 321 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• ED transfers of care occurring at 0700 or 1900.

Exclusion criteria

• Attending only handovers (1500, 2300)
• Handovers including midlevel providers (Thursday 0700, 1300).

Trial design

321 participants in 1 patient group

regular sign out process

Treatment:

Other: standardized sign out process