Team Performance Framework During Handoffs

Handoffs, the transitioning care and responsibility of patients between two or more providers, are essential in almost all medical settings whether it be during shiftchange, during breaks, or transfer from one unit to another (Riesenberg, Leitzsch, & Little, 2009). More specifically, handoffs are a communication event that can include

patient treatment, services, care, background, and all pertinent information (Patterson, 2010). Unfortunately, handoffs are vulnerable to communication breakdowns, which can lead to missed diagnoses (Lorinz et al., 2011), treatment delays (Horwitz, Moin, Krumholz, Wang, & Bradley, 2008), malpractice claims (Singh, Thomas, Petersen, & Studdert, 2007), patient harm (Arora, Johnson, Lovinger, Humphrey, & Meltzer, 2005; Kitch et al., 2008; Saleem, Paulus, Vassiliou, & Parsons, 2015), and mortality (American Thoracic Society, 2016). Due to criticality of these transitions as well as their inherent vulnerabilities, it is important that key information is transferred clearly, correctly, and comprehensibly between team members.