Bedside Shift Report: A Way to Improve Patient and Family Satisfaction with Nursing Care

Poor communication during the handoff process contributes to approximately 30% of malpractice claims costing up to $1.3 billion annually (Fenner, 2017), which demonstrates the importance of evaluating the quality of information exchange between nurses, patients, and families when associating quality of care to patient satisfaction (Kullberg et al.,2017). The following question guided this Evidence-Based Project (EBP) project. In adult, progressive care unit patients (P), does the implementation of a nursing bedside handoff (I) compared to current handoff practices (C) improve patient/family satisfaction with nursing care (O) over eight weeks (T)? The literature revealed evidence from 10 studies answering the practice problem and supported implementing a Bedside Handoff (BSH) bundle. Themes from the evidence included patient and family participation in care, bedside handoff and impact on patient and family satisfaction, nursing perceptions associated with bedside handoff process, and measuring patient and family satisfaction with nursing care. The BSH bundle included staff education, utilization of a standardized handoff communication tool, safety checks, and use of patient whiteboards. Direct observation occurred to understand staff compliance using the Handoff Observation Feedback Audit Tool. The project demonstrated that bundling evidence-based practices improved specific nursing care aspects that influence the patient and staff experiences and satisfaction survey results. BEDSIDE SHIFT REPORT AND PATIENT SATISFACTION 1 Bedside Shift Report A Way to Improve Patient and Family Satisfaction with Nursing Care The bedside handoff (BSH) demonstrates one of many strategies hospitals throughout the United States employ to encourage patients and families to participate in care and improve the patient/family hospital experience. The BSH process enhances the culture of patient safety, the delivery of care, and minimizes flaws in communication that compromise care resulting in unintended healthcare costs (da Silva dos Santos et al., 2018). When evaluating nursing care delivery and communication, the evidence-based approach of the BSH process shows improvement in patient/family satisfaction survey scores. (Radtke, 2013). This evidence-based practice (EBP) change project endeavors to assess patient/family perceptions of nursing care preimplementation and post-implementation of a nursing BSH bundle. The project proposal evaluates the evidence of BSH and explains the methodology of the project intervention. It also discusses practice recommendations based on the evidence, measures and outcomes, results, impact, sustainability, and dissemination. Significance of the Practice Problem The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) (n.d.) identifies the handoff process as a significant cause and contributor of adverse events, especially in the acute care and critical care areas. Considered the leading cause of deaths due to preventable errors in the US, the impact of poor communication leads to approximately 1,000 deaths per day and results in $2.9 billion spent each year nationally (Institute of Medicine, 2010). Poor communication makes up 30% of all malpractice claims, with $1.7 billion spent annually on organizations' payouts across the nation (Fenner, 2017). The organizational cost associated with medication errors, adverse events, or deaths is $50,000 per/injury (P. Ciampa, personal communication, November