Study shows how to reduce handoff communication failures

The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety’s August issue features two prevalent sources of adverse events ─ handoff communication failures and health inequities. Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston developed a tool to standardize handoff documentation and incorporated it into the electronic health record. Handoff adherence improved from 41.6% in 2019 to 70.5% in 2022. Safety culture scores on handoff favorability increased from 38% in 2018 to 59% in 2022. The NYC Health + Hospitals, New York, introduced equity tools in patient-safety event analysis during a case-based training across 11 acute care facilities. Participants reported an increase in knowledge and comfort levels after the training and continued to use the tools in patient-safety event analysis. (The Joint Commission news release, 8/22/24)