SHARED maternity care: enhancing clinical communication in a private maternity hospital setting

• Published in: Medical journal of Australia Vol. 190; no. S11; pp. S150 - S151
• Main Authors: Hatten‐Masterson, Sara J, Griffiths, Marnie L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia 01-06-2009
• Subjects: Australia; Communication; Continuity of Patient Care - organization & administration; Female; Health services administration; Hospitals, Maternity; Hospitals, Private; Humans; Medical Staff, Hospital; Midwifery; Nursing Staff, Hospital; Patient Satisfaction; Patient-Centered Care - organization & administration; Program Evaluation; Quality Assurance, Health Care - organization & administration; Safety; Australia
• ISSN: 0025-729X; 1326-5377
• DOI: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02624.x

Midwives and visiting medical officers have a unique relationship within private hospital maternity settings. The effective exchange of accurate information between them is a fundamental element of patient safety and is vital to the success of the clinical handover process.
The SHARED (situation, history, assessment, risk, expectation, documentation) project developed, implemented and evaluated a framework and support tools for improving clinical handover in two private maternity hospitals.
The project included a pre‐ and post‐study design using clinician surveys, chart audits, patient satisfaction surveys and a review of clinical incident data.
A standardised approach to handover, using the SHARED framework with a standardised minimum dataset, improves the accuracy and appropriateness of information.