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Handover of patient information from the crisis assessment and treatment team to the inpatient psychiatric unit
Author(s) -
Waters Amanda,
Sands Natisha,
KeppichArnold Sandra,
Henderson Kathryn
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of mental health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.911
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1447-0349
pISSN - 1445-8330
DOI - 10.1111/inm.12102
Subject(s) - audit , mental health , documentation , observational study , medicine , patient safety , nursing , handover , unit (ring theory) , health care , medical emergency , psychiatry , psychology , business , computer science , computer network , mathematics education , accounting , pathology , economics , programming language , economic growth
Handover, or the communication of patient information between clinicians, is a fundamental component of health care. Psychiatric settings are dynamic environments relying on timely and accurate communication to plan care and manage risk. Crisis assessment and treatment teams are the primary interface between community and mental health services in many A ustralian and international health services, facilitating access to assessment, treatment, and admission to hospital. No previous research has investigated the handover between crisis assessment and treatment teams and inpatient psychiatric units, despite the importance of handover to care planning. The aim of the present study was to identify the nature and types of information transferred during these handovers, and to explore how these guides initial care planning. An observational, exploratory study design was used. A 20‐item handover observation tool was used to observe 19 occasions of handover. A prospective audit was undertaken on clinical documentation arising from the admission. Clinical information, including psychiatric history and mental state, were handed over consistently; however, information about consumer preferences was reported less consistently. The present study identified a lack of attention to consumer preferences at handover, despite the current focus on recovery‐oriented models for mental health care, and the centrality of respecting consumer preferences within the recovery paradigm.