AHRQ Patient Safety Network ► Communication of vital signs at emergency department handoff: opportunities for improvement.

AHRQ Patient Safety Network



Communication of vital signs at emergency department handoff: opportunities for improvement.

Venkatesh AK, Curley D, Chang Y, Liu SW. Ann Emerg Med. 2015 Mar 21; [Epub ahead of print].

Incomplete handoffs and poor communication regarding key clinical information may lead to adverse events or missed or delayed diagnoses. Emergency medicine clinicians failed to communicate significant vital sign abnormalities in the majority of patients being handed off at the time of shift change.

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