Patient handoffs: is cross cover or night shift better?

Alanna Higgins; Melissa L Brannen; Heather L Heiman; Mark D Adler

Study

Patient handoffs: is cross cover or night shift better?

May 31, 2017

Higgins A, Brannen ML, Heiman HL, et al. J Patient Saf. 2017;13(2):88-92.

View more articles from the same authors.

Duty-hours restrictions have led to an increase in handoffs. This study compared handoffs delivered by overnight cross-covering residents to dedicated night-shift residents' handoffs. Investigators found no differences in information consistency across handoff types, which they conclude is reassuring evidence that limiting resident duty hours did not worsen handoff quality.

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