Directly Comparing Handoff Protocols for Pediatric Hospitalists.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Clinical Communication
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Handoff protocols are crucial for patient safety but often lack rigorous development and comparison.
• Existing protocols, like Situation Background Assessment Recommendation (SBAR), are widely used but may not be optimal.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare a rigorously developed handoff protocol (Flex 11) against a prevalent protocol (SBAR) in a simulated clinical environment.
• To evaluate differences in clinicians' attitudes, behaviors, cognitions, and time-on-task during patient handoffs.

Main Methods:

• A randomized control trial design was employed with 20 clinicians in a simulated setting.
• Participants used either the Flex 11 or SBAR protocol for patient handoffs.
• Data collection included surveys for attitudes/cognitions and observations for behaviors/duration.

Main Results:

• Flex 11 participants reported higher "ease of use" and "being helpful" ratings compared to SBAR participants.
• While information acquisition was similar, SBAR participants provided significantly less information than Flex 11 participants.
• Cognitive workload was comparable, though SBAR was associated with more frustration; handoff duration showed no significant difference.

Conclusions:

• The Flex 11 protocol demonstrated efficiency and benefits in a simulated pediatric setting.
• Flex 11 may be a superior tool for clinical handoffs compared to SBAR.
• Further research is recommended to validate Flex 11 in inpatient clinical settings.