The "handoff" phase of patient care is frequently associated with the genesis of adverse events. Patient handoffs in anesthesia care remain poorly studied. By reviewing archived video of anesthesia handoffs taking place in a simulated environment, we aimed to identify latent conditions and their impact on the quality and nature of handoffs occurring during surgical anesthesia care. Four trained coders assessed 58 handoffs occurring in 58 different simulated cases, for the presence or absence of 4 latent conditions: distractions, production pressure, noninteractive communication, and inappropriately timed handoff. Latent hazards frequently jeopardized handoff quality. Distractions and interruptions were conditions observed in 82% of cases; independently these did not appear to degrade handoff quality. The latent condition noninteractive communication was the greatest predictor of poor handoff scores (P < .001). Handoffs were often good or excellent with 0, 1, or 2 latent conditions present, but with 3 or more latent conditions, the quality invariably degraded. When handoff scores were high, the handoffs were always interactive. This is the first study to relate specific latent conditions to handoff quality, providing a foundation for future research, as well as for the education and training of anesthesia providers.
Keywords: Handoffs; outcomes; patient care; simulation.
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