Table 2. Physician Handoff Studies.
| Paper | Study Type | Sample and Size | Acute care setting | Score$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flanagan, 2009 [4] | Surveys, interviews, content analysis | 63 surveys; 18 interviews, 1264 formal computer-based handoff documents | General medicine and medical intensive care | 13 |
| Ye, 2007 [43] | Observational, post-handoff interviews, survey, content analysis | 914 handoffs observed; 707 post-handoff interviews, 50 surveys | Emergency department | 12 |
| Salerno, 2009 [44] | Intervention: computer-based handoff; survey | Pre: 186 surveys; Post: 130 surveys | General medicine units | 11.5 |
| Gakhar, 2010 [45] | Intervention: handoff curriculum and checklist; observations, surveys, and content analysis | Pre: 25 surveys, 100 handoff observations, 28 formal written sign-outs; Post: 12 surveys, 61 observations, 74 formal written sign-outs | Internal medicine and emergency medicine | 11.5 |
| Pickering, 2009 [46] | Intervention: Computer-based handoff; Handoff information recall score | Pre: 93 handoff information recall scores; Post: 42 information recall scores | Surgical/medical intensive care unit | 11.5 |
| Apker, 2009 [47] | Observational, discourse analysis | 15 audio-recorded telephone handoffs | Emergency department | 11 |
| Lee, 1996 [48] | RCT Intervention: Handoff card; survey | Intervention: 138 surveys; Control: 114 surveys | Cardiovascular medicine unit | 11 |
| Van Eaton 2004[49] | Iterative computer-based handoff system design, survey, focus groups | 31 surveys, focus groups with 28 residents | Resident inpatient and consult services | 11 |
| Kochendorfer 2010 [50] | Intervention: computer-based handoff; survey | Pre: 53 surveys; Post: 62 surveys | Internal Medicine | 11 |
| Horwitz, 2009 [1] | Observational, content analysis | 88 audio-taped handoffs, 84 interviews | Internal medicine residents | 10.5 |
| Chu, 2009 [51] | Intervention: Structured handoff; surveys | Pre: 72 surveys; Post: 65 surveys | General medicine unit | 10 |
| Frank, 2005 [52] | Documentation review | 74 typed sign-outs (Microsoft Word documents) | Pediatric | 9.5 |
| Ferran, 2008 [53] | Intervention: paper-based handoff sheet; audit content analysis | Pre: 48 formal written handoff sheets; Post: 55 formal written handoff sheets | Orthopedic surgery | 9.5 |
| Alem, 2008 [54] | Intervention: paper-based handoff toolkit; Pilot, observations, content analysis | Pilot: 15 handoff observations; Pre: 12 handoff observations; Post: 12 handoff observations | General medical and emergency department | 9.5 |
| Ram, 1992 [55] | Intervention: computer-based handoff; survey | Pre: 16 surveys; Post: 7 surveys; Cohort: 16 surveys | Family Practice Residency Inpatient Service | 8.5 |
| Nabors, 2010 [56] | Intervention: computer-based attending supervision of resident handoff; survey | Post: 24 residents surveys, 8 attending surveys | General medicine service | 8 |
| Solet, 2005 [57] | Observational, thematic analysis | 4 hospital resident handoff processes | Residency program in 4 acute care hospitals | 6 |
| Cheah, 2005 [10] | Intervention: computer-based handoff; survey, content analysis | Post: 14 surveys, 14 formal computer-based handoff documents | General surgical and vascular units | 5 |
| Average Score | 10 | |||
$
Quality Scoring System for Handoff Research Studies, maximum score=16