Ward round checklist improves patient perception of care.

BACKGROUND

Checklists have been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality in medicine by improving documentation and reducing errors. In the modern era of care, where patients are the centre of decision-making, this study examines patient perception of care and error prevention with the use of ward round checklist.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled checklist intervention study using a standardized questionnaire to investigate patients' perception of ward rounds before and after implementation of a ward round checklist.

RESULTS

A total of 124 patients completed the questionnaire. The overall percentage of items endorsed increased significantly by 5.1% from 64.8% to 70.0% (P = 0.014). Statistically significant improvements were seen in patients knowing their diagnosis (P = 0.027), the day's plan (P = 0.038), observing a medication chart (P < 0.001) and observation chart review (P = 0.008).

CONCLUSION

Our study indicates that the use of a ward round checklist leads to patient-perceived improvements in aspects of quality of care.