title: Socio-technical challenges in implementing safe patient handovers.
abstract: Ineffective handovers in patient care, including those where information loss occurs between care providers, have been identified as a risk to patient safety. Computerization of health information is often offered as a solution to improve the quality of care handovers and decrease adverse events related to patient safety. Drawing on three ethnographic case studies we identify and discuss socio-technical issues which must be addressed if computerized health information systems are to achieve improvements in patient safety related to handovers in care. We suggest that the contextual nature of information, ethical and medico-legal issues arising in relation to information handover and data standards and system integration warrant ongoing research in socio-technical aspects of care handovers.
authors.affiliation: School of Communication, Simon Fraser University, Canada.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Balka
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tolar
authors.forename: Shannon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coates
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Whitehouse
mesh_terms: D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D006751:Hospital Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development; D017751:Safety Management