Improving patient safety through standardised handoff in internal medicine

Improving Patient Safety through Standardised Handoff in Internal Medicine: protocol for a pre-post quality improvement study in a general internal medicine ward to prevent adverse events

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN49330740

Enrollment

694

Registered

2024-03-05

Start date

2023-12-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2024-07-22

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Improving patient safety Not Applicable

Interventions

We will introduce the I-PASS-handoff bundle to all physicians working in the Department of Internal Medicine. Current intradepartmental handoff procedures and documentation processes will be standardi

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Age >18 years 2. Patients discharged from the Department of Internal Medicine

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Patient admitted to the wards with a purely palliative care plan and death within 24 hours of admission 2. Patients who were predominately hospitalised and treated in any surgical unit (>50% of the overall length of stay) 3. Patients who do not have a signed general consent form or who have refused their general consent

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Rate of adverse events per 1000 patient days collected using the Global Trigger Tool (GTT), a validated chart review tool to identify triggers frequently associated with adverse events. The electronic health record (EHR) from all patients admitted and discharged from the internal medicine wards, who have previously consented to the use of medical data for scientific purposes, will be screened during a a prespecified period within the pre- and post-implementation phase. Any triggers that have occurred within the time from admission to discharge including a 30-day post-discharge period will be investigated for evidence of adverse events.	—

Measure

Time frame

Rate of adverse events per 1000 patient days collected using the Global Trigger Tool (GTT), a validated chart review tool to identify triggers frequently associated with adverse events. The electronic health record (EHR) from all patients admitted and discharged from the internal medicine wards, who have previously consented to the use of medical data for scientific purposes, will be screened during a a prespecified period within the pre- and post-implementation phase. Any triggers that have occurred within the time from admission to discharge including a 30-day post-discharge period will be investigated for evidence of adverse events.

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Rate of preventable adverse events per 1000 patient days collected using the Global Trigger Tool (GTT) within the time from admission to discharge including a 30-day post-discharge period 2. Overall length of stay (LoS) measured using admission and discharge dates from the EHR at admission and discharge 3. Staff satisfaction with a structured handoff process measured using a survey at 2 weeks before the implementation of the pilot phase and 6 months after the pilot phase 4. Safety culture measured using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire at 2 weeks before the implementation of the pilot phase and 6 months after the pilot phase	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Rate of preventable adverse events per 1000 patient days collected using the Global Trigger Tool (GTT) within the time from admission to discharge including a 30-day post-discharge period 2. Overall length of stay (LoS) measured using admission and discharge dates from the EHR at admission and discharge 3. Staff satisfaction with a structured handoff process measured using a survey at 2 weeks before the implementation of the pilot phase and 6 months after the pilot phase 4. Safety culture measured using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire at 2 weeks before the implementation of the pilot phase and 6 months after the pilot phase

—

Countries

Switzerland

Contacts

Public ContactFabian Brennecke

f.brennecke@gmx.ch+41 799348246

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026