Background

• Information transfer and communication is known to be crucial to the care of surgical patients. About 40% of surgical adverse events are thought to be directly due to communication breakdowns. The Information Transfer and Communication Assessment tool for Surgery (ITCAS) was developed by our group using semi-structured interviews and failure modes and effects analysis of surgical care. It assesses communication in preoperative assessment, preprocedural teamwork, postoperative handover and daily ward care.

• ITCAS can be used to assess communication and information transfer through all stages of of the surgical patient journey and highlights areas in which communication is failing and information is lost.

Resources

• Preoperative Assessment and Optimisation (ITCAS Checklist 1) (PDF)
• Preprocedural Teamwork and Checks (ITCAS Checklist 2) (PDF)
• Postoperative Handover (ITCAS Checklist 3) (PDF)
• Daily Ward Care (ITCAS Checklist 4) (PDF)

Selected bibliography

• Nagpal K, Vats A, Ahmed K, Vincent C, Moorthy K. An evaluation of information transfer through the continuum of surgical care: a feasibility study. Ann Surg 2010; 252(2):402-7. Pubmed

Contact

Please contact Krishna Moorthy for further information.