What are covering doctors told about their patients? Analysis of sign-out among internal medicine house staff.
OBJECTIVE
To characterise and assess sign-out practices among internal medicine house staff, and to identify contributing factors to sign-out quality.


METHODS
Prospective audiotape study.


METHODS
Medical wards of an acute teaching hospital.


METHODS
Eight internal medicine house staff teams.


METHODS
Quantitative and qualitative assessments of sign-out content, clarity of language, environment, and factors affecting quality and comprehensiveness of oral sign-out.


RESULTS
Sign-out sessions (n = 88) contained 503 patient sign-outs. Complete written sign-outs accompanying 50/88 sign-out sessions (57%) were collected. The median duration of sign-out was 35 s (IQR 19-62) per patient. The combined oral and written sign-outs described clinical condition, hospital course and whether or not there was a task to be completed for 184/298 (62%) of patients. The least commonly conveyed was the patient's current clinical condition, described in 249/503 (50%) of oral sign-outs and 117/306 (38%) of written sign-outs. Most patient sign-outs (298/503, 59%) included no questions from the sign-out recipient (median 0, IQR 0-1). Five factors were associated with a higher rate of oral content inclusion: familiarity with the patient, sense of responsibility for the patient, only one sign-out per day, presence of a senior resident and a comprehensive written sign-out. Omissions and mischaracterisations of data were present in 22% of sign-outs repeated in a single day.


CONCLUSIONS
Sign-outs are not uniformly comprehensive and include few questions. The findings suggest that several changes may be required to improve sign-out quality, including standardising key content, minimising sign-outs that do not involve the primary team, templating written sign-outs, emphasising the role of sign-out in maintaining patient safety and fostering a sense of direct responsibility for patients among covering staff.
Horwitz
L I
LI
Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut 06519, USA. leora.horwitz@yale.edu
Moin
T
T
Krumholz
H M
HM
Wang
L
L
Bradley
E H
EH
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008499:Medical Records; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration