title: Improving communication among health professionals, avoiding mistakes.
abstract: With each shift change or informal handoff during the workday, critical information can be lost or miscommunicated. Good communication helps catch and correct errors, plan future work, and create a culture of collaboration. It also allows team members to teach and learn. Improving handoffs is a National Patient Safety Goal. Facilities that establish formal procedures and processes tend to have fewer handoff communication problems than those that do not.
authors.affiliation: University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Jeannette Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Wick
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008490:Medical Informatics; D010348:Patient Care Team; D061214:Patient Safety