The role of documents and documentation in communication failure across the perioperative pathway. A literature review

Effective communication among healthcare professionals is vital to the delivery of safe patient care. Multiple documents utilised across the perioperative pathway have a critical role in the communication of information essential to the immediate and ongoing care of surgical patients. Failure in the communicative function of documents and documentation impedes the transfer of information and contributes to the cascade of events that results in compromised patient safety and potentially adverse patient outcomes.