Abstract
BackgroundIf one party has more or better information than the other, an information asymmetry can be assumed. The aim of the study was to identify the origin of incomplete patient-related preoperative information, which led to disruptions and losses of time during pre-anaesthetic patient briefing. We hypothesized that lower employees’ educational level increases the amount of disruptive factors.MethodsA prospective observational study design was used. Patient selection was depending on the current patient flow in the area of the clinic for pre-anesthetic patient briefing. Data were collected over a period of 8 weeks. A stopwatch was used to record the time of disruptive factors. Various causes of time losses were grouped to facilitate statistical evaluation, which was performed by using the U-test of Mann and Whitney, Chi-square test or the Welch-t-test, as required.ResultsOut of 221 patients, 130 patient briefings (58.8%) had been disrupted. Residents were affected more often than consultants (66% vs. 47%, p = 0.008). Duration of disruptions was independent of the level of training and lasted about 2,5 minutes and 10% of the total time of patient briefing. Most time-consuming disruptive factors were missing study results, incomplete case histories, and limited patient compliance.ConclusionsDisruptions during pre-anesthetic patient briefings that were caused by patient-related information asymmetry are common and account for a significant loss of time. The resultant costs justify investments in appropriate personnel allocation.
Highlights
If one party has more or better information than the other, an information asymmetry can be assumed
In Germany, after implementation of a system of diagnosisrelated groups (G-Diagnosis related groups (DRG)), anecdotal evidence has shown that the provision of medical information has become increasingly difficult
The aim of this study was to identify the origin of this particular loss of information, which led to disruptions and loss of time during preanesthetic patient assessment and briefing
Summary
If one party has more or better information than the other, an information asymmetry can be assumed. The aim of the study was to identify the origin of incomplete patient-related preoperative information, which led to disruptions and losses of time during pre-anaesthetic patient briefing. We hypothesized that lower employees’ educational level increases the amount of disruptive factors. In Germany, after implementation of a system of diagnosisrelated groups (G-DRG), anecdotal evidence has shown that the provision of medical information has become increasingly difficult. A growing lack of pre op medical findings in the anesthetic room necessitates increased efforts by anesthetic staff for compensation. If one party has more or better information than the other, an asymmetry of information can be assumed. In case of incomplete patientrelated information, asymmetry of information can be generated in an intended or unintended manner.
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