High-quality and efficient sign-outs are essential to ensure patient safety. To evaluate the impact of a new handoff tool by objective measures of handoff quality and residents' subjective experiences. Internal medicine residents working on a medical ward service completed a handoff clinical evaluation exercise (CEX) questionnaire and an anonymous survey on handoff quality and experiences prior to implementing a new handoff tool and at 2 and 6 weeks after implementation. CEX scores significantly improved from 5.3 +/- 1.1 to 6.9 +/- 0.7 in 6 weeks (P < 0.05). Residents reported that they were contacted less frequently after work, information needed by the receiving resident was more often found in the sign-out, and that tasks signed out to the oncoming team were more often executed. Before implementing the new handoff tool, 87 of residents reported that they were contacted after work hours 1-2 times per week with questions, while 75 of participants reported that they were almost never contacted after work hours after the new tool was implemented. A standardized handoff tool that utilizes smart phrases to provide residents with templates for sign-out significantly improved the quality and experience of sign-out in a short time period.
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