An institution-wide handoff task force to standardise and improve physician handoffs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Transfers of care have become increasingly frequent and complex with shorter inpatient stays and changes in work hour regulations. Potential hazards exist with transfers. There are few reports of institution-wide efforts to improve handoffs.

Methods

An institution-wide physician handoff task force was developed to proactively address issues surrounding handoffs and to ensure a consistent approach to handoffs across the institution.

Results

This report discusses the authors' experiences with handoff standardisation, provider utilisation of a new electronic medical record-based handoff tool, and implementation of an educational curriculum; future work in developing hospital-wide policies and procedures for transfers; and the authors' consensus on the best met

SUBMITTER: Horwitz LI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3463404 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature