A qualitative study of patient and provider experiences during preoperative care transitions.
Ann M Malley, Gary J Young
PMID 27706872WHAT IT FOUND
Preoperative patients wanted clear information about what happens next and after surgery.
Providers framed visits as risk checks. Patients and providers described fragmented records, unclear roles and too little time.
Key findings
01Patients and providers described preoperative care differently: patients focused on what to expect and coordination, while providers focused on risk assessment.
02Patients and providers reported fragmented care, missing information and records buried in the electronic record.
03Providers described unclear inter-professional roles and inadequate time and resources for coordination.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
All data came from a single academic center in the Northeast, so the findings may not transfer to other settings. Only English-speaking patients and a purposive sample of providers were included. The study described experiences and did not measure whether better coordination improved surgical outcomes.
Declared interests
Neither author reported a conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that nurse-led preoperative coordination improves surgical outcomes. This was a qualitative interview study of patient and provider experiences, not a test of an intervention, and it reported no patient outcomes.