Study: new approach to handoffs slashes errors, preventable adverse events; other medical centers move to implement the protocol.

A new approach to hospital handoffs has shown it can significantly reduce medical errors as well as preventable adverse events. The approach, dubbed the I-PASS bundle, uses a mnemonic to alert providers to all the issues that need to be covered during a handoff, but also includes a written handoff tool, communication training, a sustainability campaign, and a process for feedback. In a study of the I-PASS bundle conducted at nine pediatric hospitals, investigators found that the approach reduced medical errors by 23%, and the rate of preventable adverse events by 30%. Investigators say I-PASS did not increase the amount of time required to conduct a handoff. On average, handoffs in the study took 2.5 minutes per patient. Several medical centers are now implementing the approach hospital-wide, and additional studies into the approach are planned. Developers advise hospitals interested in the approach to first gather data and survey providers to make a case for the intervention.