TY - CHAP
T1 - Hospital handoffs as multifunctional situated routines
T2 - Implications for researchers and administrators
AU - Hilligoss, Brian
AU - Cohen, Michael D.
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Patient handoffs involve the exchange of information between health professionals accompanying a transfer of responsibility for, or control of, a patient. Concerns over the safety risks of poor handoffs have resulted in regulatory pressure to standardize practice and considerable growth in research. But handoffs involve more than information transfer, and their consequences for health care organizations extend beyond the safety of patients. Using an organization theory lens, we review the literature on handoffs and propose a framework that characterizes handoffs as multifunctional, situated organizational routines. We also identify implications for researchers and hospital policymakers. Standardization and improvement efforts run the risk of causing unintended problems if they overlook the complexity of handoff and the larger organizational functions it serves. Deepening our understanding of the multifunctional, situated nature of handoff can lead to improvement efforts that not only safeguard individual patients, but also enhance the capabilities of the larger health care organization.
AB - Patient handoffs involve the exchange of information between health professionals accompanying a transfer of responsibility for, or control of, a patient. Concerns over the safety risks of poor handoffs have resulted in regulatory pressure to standardize practice and considerable growth in research. But handoffs involve more than information transfer, and their consequences for health care organizations extend beyond the safety of patients. Using an organization theory lens, we review the literature on handoffs and propose a framework that characterizes handoffs as multifunctional, situated organizational routines. We also identify implications for researchers and hospital policymakers. Standardization and improvement efforts run the risk of causing unintended problems if they overlook the complexity of handoff and the larger organizational functions it serves. Deepening our understanding of the multifunctional, situated nature of handoff can lead to improvement efforts that not only safeguard individual patients, but also enhance the capabilities of the larger health care organization.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84864325302&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84864325302&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/S1474-8231(2011)0000011008
DO - 10.1108/S1474-8231(2011)0000011008
M3 - Chapter
C2 - 22908667
AN - SCOPUS:84864325302
SN - 9780857247131
T3 - Advances in Health Care Management
SP - 91
EP - 132
BT - Biennial Review of Health Care Management
A2 - Blair, John
A2 - Fottler, Myron
A2 - Savage, Grant
ER -