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Effective handoff communication is a key indicator of safe patient care. These authors outline a new model for handoff communication, integrating three theoretical frameworks addressing relevant inputs (i.e., individual organizational, environmental factors), mediators (e.g., communication, leadership), outcomes (e.g., patient, provider, teamwork, and organizational outcomes), and adaptation loops.

Reducing hospital 30-day readmissions is seen as a way to improve safety and reduce costs. Baltimore City mobile integrated health and community paramedicine (MIH-CP) was designed to improve transitional care from hospital to home. After one year in operation, MIH-CP performed a chart review to determine causes of readmission among patients in the program. Root cause analysis indicated that at least one social determinant of health (e.g., health literacy) played a role in preventable readmissions; the program was modified to improve transitional care.

Use of one-way communication technologies, such as pagers, in hospitals have led to workarounds to improve communication. Through observation, shadowing, interviews, and focus groups with nurses and physicians, this study describes antecedents, types, and effects of workarounds and their potential impact on patient safety.

While research shows that better nurse staffing ratios are associated with improved patient outcomes, policies setting minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals are rarely implemented. In 2016, select Queensland (Australia) hospitals implemented minimum nurse staffing ratios. Compared to hospitals that did not implement minimum nurse staffing ratios, length of stay, mortality, and readmission rates were significantly lower in intervention hospitals, providing evidence, once again, that minimum staffing ratios can improve patient outcomes. 

The objective of this mixed methods study was to characterize training, practices, and preferences in interprofessional handoffs from the operating room to the intensive care unit (OR-to-ICU). Anesthesia residents, registered nurses, and advanced practice providers indicated that they had not received enough preparation for OR-to-ICU handoffs in their clinical education or on-the-job training. Clinicians from all professions noted a high value of interprofessional education in OR-to-ICU handoffs, especially during early degree programs would be beneficial.

Design changes in health care settings can improve patient safety. In this single-site study, researchers found that new hospital design elements (single patient acuity-adaptable rooms, decentralized nursing stations, access to nature, etc.) improved patient satisfaction but did not impact patient outcomes such as length, falls, medication events, or healthcare-associated infections.  

Using ethnographic methods, this study explored the impact of ‘silent report’ (computer-mediated handover) on nurses’ cognitive work and communication. The authors summarize four emerging themes, which highlight and characterize the importance of oral communication to ensure accurate and useful handovers.

Prior research suggests that functional flexibility has benefits in several industries but may carry patient safety risks in healthcare settings. Using data from a national nursing database, this study examined the effect of unit-level nursing functional flexibility on the incidence of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers. Results indicate that higher use of functionally flexible nurses was associated with a higher number of pressure ulcers, but this effect was moderated when coworker support within the unit was high.

Communication and shared mental models are key elements to effective teamwork. This study explored whether simulation-based closed-loop communication training would improve staff perceptions of communication ability and decrease medical errors. Increases in perception of closed-loop communication ability were sustained one-month after training. A retrospective chart review of all emergency severity index (ESI) level 1 patients (n=9) seen in the 4-months pre- and post-training showed a reduction in medical errors (89% to 56%, respectively).

Providing patients – particularly elderly, less educated, non-white, and non-English speaking patients – with access to their medical records via ‘open notes’ can improve engagement in care; however, these demographic groups are also less likely to take advantage of these e-tools. The authors summarize the preliminary evidence and propose steps to increasing use of open note portals among disadvantaged patients.

Prior research has found that many clinicians do not engage in active listening behaviors essential to safe patient care. This prospective observational study used a mixed-methods approach to better understand listening and question-asking behaviors during residents and nurses handoffs. The researchers did not identify any significant differences between residents and nurses in their active or passive listening behaviors, but they did find that nurses asked significantly more questions than residents.

Teamwork Shared Mental Models (SMM) reflect the teams’ understanding of its members’ roles and interactions. This mixed-methods study examined teamwork-SMMs during discharge and described the differences of discharge teams with higher versus lower teamwork-SMMs. Teams with better teamwork-SMMs during discharge were more likely to report similar understanding of the patient’s situation, open communication and exchange of information, and team cohesion and resulted in more effective care delivery. Poor team-SMMs were characterized by divergent opinions regarding patient care plans, delays or gaps in communication, and team members operating independently and in isolation from their team.

I-PASS, a care transition handoff tool that enhances communication when coordinating patient transfer of care during medical shift changes, has been found to reduce preventable errors associated with handoffs. New pilot study found user-generated patient information and automatically compiled EHR data in the I-PASS format can reduce documentation errors.