Clinical handover explained

Clinical handover (patient handover or handover) is the transfer of professional responsibility and accountability for some or all aspects of care for a patient, or group of patients, to another person or professional group on a temporary or permanent basis.^[1] When critical clinical information emerges or there is a risk to patient care, timely communication of this information to the appropriate person(s) is essential to ensuring patient safety and delivery of the right care. Failure in handover is a major source in preventable patient harm. Clinical handover is an international concern and Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries have developed risk reduction recommendations.^[1]

It is important to define and agree on the minimum information content for clinical handovers relevant to a service or discipline. It may be helpful to consider what clinical and non-clinical information is time critical or significant to patient care, such as:^[2]

• New critical diagnostic or test results that require a change to care
• Changes in a patient’s physical and psychological condition, including unexpected deterioration or development of complications
• Follow-up communication following a review of results.

Use of structured handover tools can help to provide a framework for communicating the minimum information content for clinical handovers. This may be supported by electronic clinical handover templates.^[3]

Examples of clinical handover tools to help structure handover:^[2]

• ISBAR (Identify, Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation)
• SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation)
• SHARED (Situation, History, Assessment, Risk, Expectation, Documentation)
• I PASS the BATON (Introduction, Patient, Assessment, Situation, Safety concerns, Background, Actions, Timing, Ownership, Next).

See also

• Change-of-shift report (nursing)
• GP Liaison

Notes and References

1. Web site: Government of Western Australia Department of health, Clinical handover, Retrieved 15 September 2012 . 15 September 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120321055238/http://www.safetyandquality.health.wa.gov.au/initiatives/clinical_handover.cfm . 21 March 2012 . dead .
2. Web site: Communicating for Safety Standard. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care . 22 June 2024.
3. http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/10072/29476/59352_1.pdf?sequence=1 Wendy Chaboyer et al, Bedside Handover; One Quality Improvement Strategy to “Transform Care at the Bedside”, Retrieved 15 September 2012