Patient Handoff Resources

Handoff Mnemonic Resource Table

Handoff Mnemonic Resource Table
This is a comprehensive list of publications that studied the use of mnemonics in the handover process.

Handover Assessment Guide

This is an assessment tool develop at University of Texas – Southwestern designed to evaluate the quality of student handovers during a training session.

ICU to OR Handover Pocket Checklist

This is a pocket card which details the handover process from the ICU to the OR team prior to transport.

OR to ICU Handover Improvement Toolkit

A helpful toolkit developed by the Durham Patient Safety Center of Inquiry that is a comprehensive resource for development and implementation of OR to ICU handovers.

Cardiac ICU Handover Template

This is a handover template for patients admitted to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit following surgery.  It was developed by the team at University of Texas – Southwestern.

OR to ICU Handoff Checklist Infographic

This is a handover checklist template developed at UCLA in a well-designed infographic format.

OR to CVICU Graphic Cognitive Aids

This is a series of process graphics developed as part of the ECHO-ICU study.  Geoffrion TR, Lynch IP, Hsu W, Phelps E, Minhajuddin A, Tsai E, Timmons A, Greilich PE. An Implementation Science Approach to Handoff Redesign in a Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit. Annals of Thoracic Surgery 2020 Jun;109(6):1782-1788.

OR to CVICU Nursing Phone Report

This is the template used to structure phone report from the Circulating RN to the CVICU bedside RN prior to patient arrival in the cardiac ICU.

OR to PACU Handoff Wall Sign

This is a wall sign which outlines a very streamlined handover from the OR to the PACU team.

OR to PACU Handover – SBAR Structure

This is a cognitive aid designed for use during handover from the OR team to the PACU team.  It’s structure is based upon the SBAR communication tool.

OR to PACU Handover Communication Tool

This is a perianesthesia communication tool designed for use by the PACU RN for recording the details of patient handover from the OR team.

OR to PACU ID Badge Card

This is an example of an ID Badge card which contains the desired structure of the OR to PACU handover.

Handoff Education Database

A comprehensive collection of online handoff resources from around the web. Prepared by: Aditee Ambardekar, MD, MSEd and Lee Ann Riesenberg, PhD and members of the Education Working Group

2017 APSF Stoelting Conference: Perioperative Handoffs: Achieving Consensus on How to Get it Right

MHC members directed the 2017 APSF Stoelting Conference, which featured perioperative handoffs as the primary patient safety topic that year. Below you will find material related to the event:

• Conference Program with Presentation PDFs
• Conference Consensus Recommendations