Improving Signout Accuracy and Information Delivery in the Emergency Department

Completed

Conditions studied: Medical Errors Related to Emergency Department Sign Out

In brief

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.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01859286

Run by

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

People needed

321

Starts

2012-02-01

Last updated by the study team

2013-05-21

Who can join

Age: any. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• ED transfers of care occurring at 0700 or 1900.

You may not qualify if…

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

Where it is running

• Memorial Hermann Hospital - Texas Medical Center — Houston, Texas, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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