Internal communication standardization at the handoff session as a method to enhance health care quality: The lean methodology applied to gynecological & obstetrics departments

Abstract

There is little scientific literature published about issues in communication between healthcare professionals in our environment. There is background on the communication between professionals and patients, but in few cases, there are studies of the impact about the exchange of information between health professionals. The purpose of this study is to investigate, analyze and interpret the results of the current communication between professionals from six different Gynecology and Obstetrics units, to design a protocol that standardizes the handoff session. Specifically, this research proposes to create a guide to improve the transmission of information during the handoff session to help dealing with complex cases and the planning of the working day. The guide generation has followed the lean management methodology which puts its emphasis on standardization and tries to create value. According to the results found, about 83% of medical professionals consider that the relevant information on the care of patients is adequately transmitted to the responsible doctor and to all the doctors involved. So, Hospitals can be considered organisms where the culture of searching for the improvement of internal communication is very low. To promote better communication within the health sector, different tools have been designed to encourage the gathering of essential information from patients as well as to help with care planning. Thus, this research introduces the concept of standardization of communication between healthcare professionals but nothing can be done without the support of the executives as it is the main gear of maintaining the applied adjustments.