title: SHARED maternity care: enhancing clinical communication in a private maternity hospital setting.
abstract: Midwives and visiting medical officers have a unique relationship within private hospital maternity settings. The effective exchange of accurate information between them is a fundamental element of patient safety and is vital to the success of the clinical handover process. The SHARED (situation, history, assessment, risk, expectation, documentation) project developed, implemented and evaluated a framework and support tools for improving clinical handover in two private maternity hospitals. The project included a pre- and post-study design using clinician surveys, chart audits, patient satisfaction surveys and a review of clinical incident data. A standardised approach to handover, using the SHARED framework with a standardised minimum dataset, improves the accuracy and appropriateness of information.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Safety and Quality Unit, Mater Health Services, Brisbane, QLD. sara.hatten-masterson@mater.org.au
authors.forename: Sara J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hatten-Masterson
authors.forename: Marnie L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Griffiths
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D003142:Communication; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006771:Hospitals, Maternity; D016304:Hospitals, Private; D006801:Humans; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D008880:Midwifery; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D012449:Safety