INVESTIGATING THE PATIENT HANDOVER PROCESS IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PRE-HOSPITAL EMERGENCY PERSONNEL

Proper implementation of the patient handover process by prehospital personnel to the hospital emergency personnel plays an important role in ensuring continuity of care of the patients and guaranteeing their safety. The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of the prehospital emergency personnel on the status of the patient handover process to the hospital emergency department.

The present study is a descriptive study that was carried out by census selection method on 150 prehospital emergency personnel in Tabriz in 2018. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire that evaluates the patient delivery process in 6 areas, including: clinical delivery of the patient, communication between the hospital emergency staff and the pre-hospital, information related to registration, confirmation and reporting of the forms, facilities related to patient delivery, existing standards during patient delivery, and the performance of the triage section of the emergency department. Validity of the study was calculated by the form and content method and its reliability was calculated with Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.80).

In the examination of the average scores of the six areas effective in the patient delivery process, the highest score was related to the performance area of the triage part of the emergency department with a mean of 50.92 ± 13.78 (minimum score of 12 and maximum score of 60), and the lowest score was related to the hospital facility with a mean of 15.10 ± 4.52 (minimum 10 and maximum 50). Lack of adequate parking spaces for ambulances in front of the emergency department of the hospital, lack of stretchers and wheelchairs at the entrance of the emergency department for patient transfer, overcrowding in the emergency department, and the condition of special departments in terms of empty beds and the number of medical staff were among the most important factors that had an impact on the patient delivery process.

Based on the findings of the present study and from the perspective of the prehospital emergency personnel, the status of the patient handover process to the hospital emergency department is moderate, and this can be a reason for incorrect transfer of the patient's medical information and the lack of optimal continuity of patient care. In this regard, proper patient delivery training for hospital and pre-hospital emergency personnel, and effective cooperation between hospital and pre-hospital emergency centers in removing obstacles and developing comprehensive national guidelines on the patient delivery process are necessary and essential.