Influence of Perioperative Handoffs on Complications and Outcomes

Handoffs—the safe transfer of information and responsibility for the care of the patient from one health care provider to another—are crucial in providing safe, high-quality patient care. When this process is fragmented or incomplete, delayed care, errors, and patient harm can occur [1]. Challenges with handoffs and clinical communication have been identified as the root cause of 75% to 89% of sentinel events in 2014 to 2015 [2]. Handoffs and communication errors have also been found to be contributing factors in 91% of medical errors involving resident physicians [3,4].