Effective Clinical Handover Communication: Improving Patient Safety, Experiences and Outcomes

Adverse events in Australian healthcare cost approximately $2 billion p.a. Conservatively, a third of this cost is attributed to ineffective communication between clinicians. A key site for communication between clinicians is handover of patient care. This innovative project aims to improve safety of clinical handover practices, thereby reducing the number of adverse events. It will describe, map, and analyse spoken and written communication in clinical handovers, and employ these discourse analytical findings to collaboratively improve handover practices. Outcomes will be communication systems frameworks and redesign of clinical handovers, leading to safer health care practices and therefore reduced burdens on health budgets.