Patient Handoff Summary

Quality care: every patient expects it each time they interact with healthcare professionals. It is the corner stones the patient experience by laying a foundation for every interaction that takes place in the client and provider relationship. Many times it is assumed quality develops fluidly through this relationship, but what if quality care, more specifically patient safety, began before the healthcare team even walked into the client’s room? The article entitled “Patient Handoffs: What They Are and How They Contribute to Patient Safety,” by Tamara M. Kear, Ph.D., R.N., and consultant for the National League of Nurses, discusses a critical breakdown in communication during patient handoffs. This breakdown impleads a provider’s ability to provide a safe, quality experience for each patient. Kear further proposes a solution through three basic mnemonics: SBAR, I PASS the BATON, and the Five Ps.

According to Kear, the chief cause of sentinel events in the hospital arise from failure to communication (Kear, 2016). Further, the Joint Commission identified the leading cause of malpractice lawsuits stems from improper patient handoffs (2016; as cited by The Joint Commission, 2015). Because healthcare is interdisciplinary, clear communication is an essential link in patient safety and quality care. Whether the handoff takes place from healthcare professional to healthcare professional or location to location, providing up-to-date, concise information on patient status is critical. The breakdown occurs because patient care evolves at a rapid pace in a culture that does not support “time-consuming” communication. The environment can be unpredictable, loud, and the amount of needed information is immense. Challenges further arise from a variance in staff, a patient’s ability to communicate, and the method of delivery of the handoff. These complications lead to misunderstandings between professionals. (Kear,