A leadership initiative to improve paraprofessional communication of changes in patient status

As hospitals around the globe make the transition from paper to electronic communication and documentation systems, there is a need for examining the role that electronic and non-electronic systems play in promoting effective and safe communication practices between all members of the health care team. We report here the strategies we have adopted to integrate a structured communication framework into the clinical workflow of paraprofessional providers as a means to support safe practices, to promote teamwork and to provide a key foundation for implementation of electronic clinical documentation.