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.