Category Ranking
98%
Total Visits
921
Avg Visit Duration
2 minutes
Citations
20
Article Abstract
Background: Handoffs are a weak link in the chain of clinical care of inpatients. Within-unit handoffs are increasing in frequency due to changes in duty hours. There are strong rationales for standardising the reporting of critical information between providers, and such practices have been adopted by other industries.
Objectives: As part of Making Healthcare Safer IV we reviewed the evidence from the last 10 years that the use of structured handoff protocols influences patient safety outcomes within acute care hospital units.
Methods: We searched four databases for systematic reviews and original research studies of any design that assessed structured handoff protocols and reported patient safety outcomes. Screening and eligibility were done in duplicate, while data extraction was done by one reviewer and checked by a second reviewer. The synthesis of results is narrative. Certainty of evidence was based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework as modified for Making Healthcare Safer IV.
Results: We searched for evidence on 12 handoff tools. Two systematic reviews of Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (SBAR) (including 11 and 28 original research studies; 5 and 15 were about the use in handoffs) and two newer original research studies provided low certainty evidence that the SBAR tool improves patient safety outcomes. Ten original research studies (about nine implementations) provided moderate certainty evidence that the I-PASS tool (Illness severity, Patient summary, Action list, Situation awareness, Synthesis to receiver) reduces medical errors and adverse events. No other structured handoff tool was assessed in more than one study or one setting.
Conclusion: The SBAR and I-PASS structured tools for within-unit handoffs probably improve patient safety, with I-PASS having a stronger certainty of evidence. Other published tools lack sufficient evidence to draw conclusions.
Prospero Registration Number: CRD42024576324.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12232517 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2024-018385 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Simulation-Based Peer Feedback Module for Pediatric Rapid Response Team Handoffs.
MedEdPORTAL
September 2025
Neonatology Fellow, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago.
Introduction: Deterioration of pediatric patients outside the PICU increases morbidity and mortality. Effective communication during rapid response team (RRT) events is essential. Although frameworks like SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) and ABC (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) exist, standardized RRT training for residents remains limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGet4/5-Mediated Remodeling of Get3's Substrate Binding Chamber: Insights into Tail-Anchored Protein Targeting by the GET Pathway.
J Biol Chem
September 2025
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. Electronic address:
The Guided Entry of Tail-Anchored Proteins (GET) pathway ensures accurate targeting of Tail-Anchored proteins (TAs) - a diverse class of membrane proteins - to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. In yeast, newly synthesized TAs are captured by Sgt2 and transferred to Get3 for delivery to the ER, where they undergo subsequent membrane insertion. Efficient and protected handoff of hydrophobic TAs from Sgt2 to Get3 is facilitated by the Get4/5 complex, which is thought to act as a scaffold to position TA-bound Sgt2 and Get3 in proximity while trapping Get3 in an ATP-bound conformation necessary for TA binding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffectiveness of the Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation method in emergencies with simulation-based education for nursing and paramedic students.
Int Emerg Nurs
September 2025
Düzce University, Vocational School of Health Services, Konuralp Campus, 81620 Düzce, Turkey.
Introduction: Effective handover skills play a crucial role in communication between pre-hospital and hospital staff. However, nursing and paramedic students rarely have the opportunity to practice them.
Objective: Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) method in emergency settings using simulation-based education for nursing and paramedic students.
Enhancing Transfer of Accountability in Burn ICU Nursing: A Quality Improvement Initiative.
J Burn Care Res
August 2025
Ross Tilley Burn Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
In the burn intensive care unit (ICU), effective nurse handovers are critical to patient safety. Communication gaps during the transfer of accountability (TOA) contribute to preventable safety incidents. We designed a quality improvement (QI) initiative to standardize TOA and improve safety culture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNucleotide- and metalloid-driven conformational changes in the arsenite efflux ATPase ArsA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
September 2025
Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125.
Arsenite (As) is toxic to all organisms due to its ability to tightly bind exposed thiols within cells. An important As resistance mechanism in prokaryotes involves proteins encoded by the operon. A central component of the operon in many bacteria is the cytoplasmic ATPase, ArsA, which orchestrates a series of nucleotide-dependent handoffs, starting with the capture of As by the ArsD metallochaperone and culminating in its removal from the cell by the ArsB efflux pump.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF