Development of a handoff evaluation tool for shift-to-shift physician handoffs: the Handoff CEX.

Background: Increasing frequency of shift-to-shift handoffs coupled with regulatory requirements to evaluate handoff quality make a handoff evaluation tool necessary.

Objective: To develop a handoff evaluation tool.

Design: Tool development.

Characterising physician listening behaviour during hospitalist handoffs using the HEAR checklist.

Background: The increasing fragmentation of healthcare has resulted in more patient handoffs. Many professional groups, including the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education and the Society of Hospital Medicine, have made recommendations for safe and effective handoffs. Despite the two-way nature of handoff communication, the focus of these efforts has largely been on the person giving information.