European journal of anaesthesiology
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Review
Postoperative handover: characteristics and considerations on improvement: a systematic review.
Current research has identified numerous safety risks related to patient handovers including postoperative handovers. During the postoperative handover and the recovery period, the patient is at risk of potential complications of surgery or anaesthesia. Furthermore, patients are subject to a downscale in monitoring and observation, which makes them vulnerable to incidents and errors. ⋯ Postoperative handover is a complex and dynamic situation. It is very important to analyse the challenges in the local setting and that solutions are customised to fit the specific context in which the postoperative handovers takes place. It is also important to acknowledge the role of non-technical skills in the work process with respect to patient safety. Implementation of new handover strategies must be considered carefully. To optimise the motivation for change among staff, the importance of improvement in postoperative handover in all settings must be outlined in future studies with more patient-specific outcomes.