Patient handoff is the process of transferring responsibility for the care of a patient from one caregiver to another. During patient handoffs, or rounds, all relevant historical and clinical patient information must be conveyed accurately. If important information is omitted or misunderstood, increased risk to patient safety and decreased quality of care may result. Studies in human medicine show that communication errors during patient handoffs are frequent and patients commonly experience harm asa result.1 Creation and adoption of best practice recommendations for patient handoff in human medicine, such as standardized handoff formats and closed-loop communication, have led to decreased medical error rates and improved patient safety.
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