ABSTRACT

Aim of this study is to detect the reasons and affecting factors of emergency department handovers at Maresal Cakmak Military Hospital.

Emergency service shift records (patient appeals, biochemistry, radiology and microbiology analysis, consultations, referrals, admissions, shift period) and the data of patients handed over were recorded for 72 days. The physicians on duty were asked to choose a cause for every patients handed over (policlinic appeal, disability to consultations, medical diagnose process, transportation problems, managerial problems, other). Data were collected into Excel spreadsheet and statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 17.0 statistical software.

At 72 days 1362 patients appealed to emergency service shifts, 41 patients handed over. Handover causes were medical diagnose process at 35 (85,4 %) patients, non-medical

diagnose process at 6 (14,6 %) patients. Correlation analyses showed that consultation number and speciality of doctor were statistically affected the number of patients handed over but shift period, patient appeal number, total analyses number or referrals were not statistically assocciated with the the number of patients handed over .

Patient handovers during emergency service shifts can be made also because of other reasons than the continuance of medical diagnosis process. Along with this, we confirmed that taking consultancy during the shift and the shifts hold by doctors apart from emergency medicine specialists have also an effect on patient handovers.