Clinical Handover Between Nursing and Radiologic Technologists and Its Impact on Imaging Workflow Efficiency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22399/ijcesen.4801Keywords:
Clinical Handover, Nursing, Radiologic Technologist, Imaging Workflow, Patient Safety, Interprofessional CommunicationAbstract
The clinical handover between nursing staff and radiologic technologists represents a critical juncture in patient care, directly impacting both safety and operational efficiency within medical imaging departments. This transfer of responsibility and information, when suboptimal, leads to significant risks including patient harm from incomplete data (e.g., unreported allergies or renal impairment), procedural delays, and non-diagnostic studies requiring repeats. These inefficiencies create costly workflow disruptions, reducing scanner throughput and increasing staff frustration. Conversely, implementing standardized handover protocols—supported by health information technology, interprofessional education, and strong leadership—fosters a shared mental model. This transforms the handover into a reliable mechanism that safeguards patients, enhances image quality, optimizes resource utilization, and strengthens collaborative culture, ultimately serving as a cornerstone for high-reliability healthcare delivery.
References
1. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care . ISBAR: Identifying and Solving Barriers to Effective Handover in Inter-Hospital Transfer - Case Study 1. 2012.
2. Frenk J, Chen L, Bhutta ZA, Cohen J, Crisp N, Evans T, Fineberg H, Garcia P, Ke Y, Kelley P, Kistnasamy B, Meleis A, Naylor D, Pablos-Mendez A, Reddy S, Scrimshaw S, Sepulveda J, Serwadda D, Zurayk H. Health professional for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an independent world. Lancet. 2010;376:1923–1958.
3. Thompson JE, Collett LW, Langbart MJ, Purcell NJ, Boyd SM, Yuminaga Y, Ossolinski G, Susanto C, McCormack A. Using the ISBAR handover tool in junior medical officer handover: a study in an Australian tertiary hospital. Postgrad Med J. 2011;87:340–344.
4. Jorm CM, White S, Kaneen T. Clinical handover: critical communications. Med J Aust. 2009;190(11):s108–s109.
5. Australian Medical Association . Safe handover: safe patients. Guidance on clinical handover for clinicians and managers: A.M.A. 2006.
6. Burgess A, Mellis C. Feedback and assessment during clinical placements: achieving the right balance. Advances in Medical Education and Practice. 2015;6:373–381.
7. Marshall S, Harrison J, Flanagan B. The teaching of a structured tool improves the clarity and content of interprofessional clinical communication. Qual Saf Health Care. 2009;18(2):137–140.
8. The New South Wales Excellence Commission, Clinical Handover http://www.cec.health.nsw.gov.au/improve-quality/clinical-handover. Accessed 20 July, 2020.
9. Hunt GE, Marsden R, O’Connor N. Clinical handover in acute psychiatric and community mental health settings. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2012;19:310–318.
10. Burgess A, van Diggele C, Mellis C. Faculty development for junior health professionals. Clin Teach. 2018;15:1–8.
11. Hattie J, Timperley H. The power of feedback. Rev Educ Res. 2007;77:81–112.
12. Moore M, Roberts C. Handover training in the workplace: having a CHAT. Clin Teach. 2019;16:248–252.
13. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care . OSSIE guide to clinical handover improvement. Sydney: ACSQHC; 2010.
14. Gordon M, Hill E, Stojan JN, Daniel M. Education interventions to improve handover in health care: an updated systematic review. Academic Medicine. Published Ahead of Print April. 2018.
15. Health Workforce Australia . Health Workforce 2025 – Doctors, Nurses and Midwives. Adelaide: Health Workforce Australia; 2012.
16. Finnigan MA, Marshall SD, Flanagan BT. ISBAR for clear communication: one hospital’s experience spreading the message. Aust Health Rev. 2010;34:400–404.
17. Starmer AJ, O’Toole JK, Rosenbluth G, et al. Development, implementation, and dissemination of the I-PASS handoff curriculum: a multisite educational intervention to improve patient handoffs. Acad Med. 2014;89:876–884.
18. Moore M, Roberts C, Newbury J, Crossley J. Am I getting an accurate picture: a tool to assess clinical handover in remote settings? BMC Med Educ. 2017;17:213.
19. Yee KC, Wong MC, Turner P. Hand me an ISOBAR: a pilot study of an evidence-based approach to improving shift-to-shift clinical handover. MJA. 2009;190(11):S121–S124.
20. Burgess A, Roberts C, van Diggele V, Mellis C. Peer teacher training program: interprofessional and flipped learning. BMC Med Educ. 2017;17:239.
21. Cowan D, Brunero S, Luo X, Bilton D, Lamont S. Developing a guideline for structured content and process in mental health nursing handover. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2018;27:429–439.
22. Foster S, Manser T. The effects of patient handoff characteristics on subsequent care: a systematic review and areas for future research. Acad Med. 2012;87(8):1105–1124.
23. Hawthorne L. International medical migration: what is the future for Australia? MJA Open. 2012;1(Suppl 3):18–21.
24. Western Health . Australian Government. 2015.
25. Cohen MD, Hilligoss PB. The published literature on handoffs in hospitals: deficiencies identified in an extensive review. Qual Saf Health Care. 2010;19(6):493–497.
26. Jeffries D, Johnson M, Nicholls D. Comparing written and oral approaches to clinical reporting in nursing. Contemp Nurse. 2012;42:129–138.
27. World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) Patient safety curriculum guide: multiprofessional edition. 2011.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 International Journal of Computational and Experimental Science and Engineering
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
