Information concerning ICU patients’ families in the handover—the clinicians’ “game of whispers”: a qualitative study.
Handoffs are essential to communicating important information and preventing adverse patient care outcomes. This qualitative study explored how information about ICU patients’ family members is included in handovers. Findings suggest that written documentation about the family is inadequate and poorly structured and there is a need for user-friendly handoff tools that include information on patients’ family members.