title: Enhancing patient safety: improving the patient handoff process through appreciative inquiry.
abstract: Patient transfers from one care giver to another are an area of high safety consequence, as is evident by many studies and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization's Patient Safety Goals. The authors describe how one hospital made measurable improvements in a patient handoff process by using an unconventional approach to change called appreciative inquiry. Rather than identifying the root causes of ineffective handoffs, appreciative inquiry was used to engage staff in identifying and building on their most effective handoff experiences.
authors.affiliation: Patient Care Services, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark, NJ 07112, USA. nfalik@sbhcs.com
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shendell-Falik
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feinson
authors.forename: Bernard J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Mohr
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D015274:Interdepartmental Relations; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007857:Leadership; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016294:Models, Nursing; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009515:New Jersey; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000458:organization & administration; D011340:Problem Solving; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013597:Systems Analysis; D013686:Telemetry; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration*