ABSTRACT
Emergency medical service (EMS) professionals, who are medically trained first responder personnel, act as a collaborative unit in their effort to care for the sick and injured patients being transported from the scene of an incident to the hospital. This chapter examines the patient handoff process along with the common pitfalls and areas in which improvements are needed. It explores the handover process including the challenges in communication, the pitfalls of the process, and best practices for improved handover process. The handover process is a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to patient care due to the multiple deficiencies and issues that can occur in communication between EMS and hospital staff. The team and communication literature has established a number of factors that influence the accuracy and reliability of information transfer during time-sensitive scenarios. Human factors science is integral to interdisciplinary research aimed at understanding and improving patient handover.
