Communication at clinical handover
Introduction
Clinical handover is defined as the transfer of professional responsibility and accountability for some or all aspects of care for a patient, or groups of patients, to another person or professional group on a temporary or permanent basis.1
Failures in clinical handover have been identified as a major cause of preventable harm to patient.2 These failures or problems include such things as a lack of structure and/or incompleteness, lack of explanations, reliant upon memory, lack of patient involvement and multi-disciplinary involvement in care. 3
Learning objective
This course aims to provide the understanding of the communication processes involved in a clinical handover.
Learning outcomes
Following completion of this course the learner should be able to:
- understand the importance of effective collaborative clinical handover in ensuring patient safety.
- identify key procedures and processes involved for clinical handover.
- demonstrate ability to use effective communication techniques to assist with the handover process.
1 Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (2010). The OSSIE Guide to Clinical Handover Improvement. Sydney, ACSQHC.
Available from: https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ossie.pdf
2 Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (2011). Implementation Toolkit for Clinical Handover Improvement. Sydney, ACSQHC.
Available from: https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/ImplementationToolkitforClinicalHandoverImprovement.pdf
3 Eggins S and Slade D. Communication in Clinical Handover: Improving the safety and quality of the patient experience. Journal of Public Health Research 2015; 4(3):666. doi:10.4081/jphr.2015.666. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4693345/
