Improving written handoff on inpatient medicine resident services: a resident-led safety initiative
Background High-quality, standardised handoff during shift change is a key aspect of reducing preventable medical errors. At our hospital, we noticed inconsistent use of the handoff tools built into the electronic health record. The goal of our project was to increase the percentage of completed wri...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-06-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open Quality |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/2/e003277.full |
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| author | Sangini Tolia Veena Janardan Ethan Bowlin James Haubert Ola Al-Sous |
| author_facet | Sangini Tolia Veena Janardan Ethan Bowlin James Haubert Ola Al-Sous |
| author_sort | Sangini Tolia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background High-quality, standardised handoff during shift change is a key aspect of reducing preventable medical errors. At our hospital, we noticed inconsistent use of the handoff tools built into the electronic health record. The goal of our project was to increase the percentage of completed written handoffs for all new admissions on resident teaching services by 50% in 8 weeks.Methods We designed a smart phrase tool based on the well-studied and validated I-PASS and taught all residents in small groups how to use it. We collected data weekly on the percentage of handoffs that were completed in the electronic health record. Measures were tracked via chart review and direct observation and uploaded on a run chart using Excel. Feedback was also gathered from residents and faculty.Results We noted an upward trend in the percentage of written handoffs completed on new admissions postintervention, with the median preintervention rate of 31% and the median postintervention rate of 89% at 8 weeks, which remained sustained at the 4-month mark.Conclusions Our intervention improved the rates of written handoff completion based on the I-PASS handoff tool. It helped all members of the team feel more confident that they had the necessary information to care for patients and had the effect of reducing handoff time and improving satisfaction. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7cd9ac46accd4011ba7242e2d5e5b08a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2399-6641 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open Quality |
| spelling | doaj-art-7cd9ac46accd4011ba7242e2d5e5b08a2025-08-20T03:27:06ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open Quality2399-66412025-06-0114210.1136/bmjoq-2024-003277Improving written handoff on inpatient medicine resident services: a resident-led safety initiativeSangini Tolia0Veena Janardan1Ethan Bowlin2James Haubert3Ola Al-Sous4Internal Medicine, Trinity Health Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USAInternal Medicine, Trinity Health Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USAInternal Medicine, Trinity Health Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USAInternal Medicine, Trinity Health Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USAInternal Medicine, Trinity Health Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USABackground High-quality, standardised handoff during shift change is a key aspect of reducing preventable medical errors. At our hospital, we noticed inconsistent use of the handoff tools built into the electronic health record. The goal of our project was to increase the percentage of completed written handoffs for all new admissions on resident teaching services by 50% in 8 weeks.Methods We designed a smart phrase tool based on the well-studied and validated I-PASS and taught all residents in small groups how to use it. We collected data weekly on the percentage of handoffs that were completed in the electronic health record. Measures were tracked via chart review and direct observation and uploaded on a run chart using Excel. Feedback was also gathered from residents and faculty.Results We noted an upward trend in the percentage of written handoffs completed on new admissions postintervention, with the median preintervention rate of 31% and the median postintervention rate of 89% at 8 weeks, which remained sustained at the 4-month mark.Conclusions Our intervention improved the rates of written handoff completion based on the I-PASS handoff tool. It helped all members of the team feel more confident that they had the necessary information to care for patients and had the effect of reducing handoff time and improving satisfaction.https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/2/e003277.full |
| spellingShingle | Sangini Tolia Veena Janardan Ethan Bowlin James Haubert Ola Al-Sous Improving written handoff on inpatient medicine resident services: a resident-led safety initiative BMJ Open Quality |
| title | Improving written handoff on inpatient medicine resident services: a resident-led safety initiative |
| title_full | Improving written handoff on inpatient medicine resident services: a resident-led safety initiative |
| title_fullStr | Improving written handoff on inpatient medicine resident services: a resident-led safety initiative |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improving written handoff on inpatient medicine resident services: a resident-led safety initiative |
| title_short | Improving written handoff on inpatient medicine resident services: a resident-led safety initiative |
| title_sort | improving written handoff on inpatient medicine resident services a resident led safety initiative |
| url | https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/2/e003277.full |
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