Strategies to Improve Hand-Off Communication

Hand-off communication refers to the way health care information is relayed between health care personnel and the entire health care institution. It is important in health care because a minor error can lead to serious repercussions. If there's miscommunication, there's a high possibility that the patient's life or condition will be jeopardized. Because of its high-risk nature, it's repeatedly emphasized that hand-off communication should be done properly and carefully.

Use of Definite Terms

• Clear language is central to good hand-off communication. Especially in health care, it's important to refrain from using vague or general sentence or adjectives. For instance phrases such as "she's doing fine" or "he's slightly unstable" are potentially confusing terms. It's important to define or provide the exact description of the patient's condition instead of wording vaguely. If the condition has definite terms then it's best to use them. However, jargons and abbreviations should not be used if they are at high risk for misinterpretation.

Use of Proper Techniques

• The key to effective hand-off communication is to use the right techniques and to foster proper communication. This means that the focus should be on the message or the information relayed from one personnel to another. It's necessary to emphasize to health care personnel to limit interruptions or other unnecessary activities when communicating. There should also be sufficient time allotted to such task. In order to ensure that the right message has been relayed, it's important to conduct check-back or read-back procedures. Interactive questioning should also be encouraged so that information is better understood. All reports should also focus on the patient without reference to irrelevant details.

Use of Consistent Format

• To make sure that hand-off communication is carried out properly, it's best to stick with a standard unit-to-unit and shift-to-shift type of reporting. Standardized form of reporting guarantees that the same amount of information is recorded. It also helps improve the staff's ability to plan better health care services. For instance, it's best to have an "at a glance" status, a sign-out checklist and a script. By simply making sure that all of these data are included in the report, messages could be standardized and personnel will know what to communicate and prioritize. For types of information that are likely to go unnoticed, it's important to provide cues or hints to that message to make sure that it doesn't get overlooked. All reports should be done in a concise and accurate manner.