title: ED accreditation update. SBAR techniques help EDs comply with handoff regs.
abstract: In light of a survey by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) indicating the need to improve handoffs across units, ED managers should consider educating their staffs on communications strategies such as SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation). * SBAR, which uses a template that looks like a grid, makes it easier for the recipient of the handoff to follow the verbal communications of the individual who is handing off the patient. * Staff SBAR education should include didactic instruction and team-building exercises. * Follow up with random audits to ensure that the new strategy has been "hardwired" into your department and that it is being used consistently.
mesh_terms: D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D006747:Hospital Communication Systems; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D014481:United States; D016270:United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality