Handover and Patient Safety

As patients move from caregiver to caregiver and provider to provider, it’s critical that information about their treatment goes with them. That doesn’t always happen, though.

The nature of handoffs is prone to errors

communication breakdowns are a leading cause of medical errors

Breakdowns in communication among care teams during patient transitions were shown to be the root cause of more than 80 percent of serious medical errors, according to a report by The Joint Commission in 2010.

 WHAT IS HANDOFF ??

It's an interactive communication allowing the opportunity for questions between the giver and receiver of patient information.

This will include the accurate information about the patient’s care, treatment and services, current condition, and any recent or anticipated changes.

HAND-OFF COMMUNICATION