Ten participating hospitals, including Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, are implementing changes in their communications systems to prevent miscommunication in patient handoffs. After taking part in the Joint Commission’s initiative, five hospitals cut defective handoffs by an average of 52 percent.
Flawed patient handoffs are involved in 80 percent of serious preventable problems, according to an official cited in the report. Of the participants, 70 percent of hospitals found their handoffs to be defective prior to the initiative.
Read the American Medical News report on Joint Commission’s quality improvement initiative.
Read more about Joint Commission:
–Joint Commission Revises Standard to Enhance Medical Staff Relationships
