Neonatal intensive care unit handoffs: a pilot study on core elements and epidemiology of errors

Objective:to define the core data elements of a neonatal intensive care unit (nicu) handoff compare nicu residents’ written and verbal handoff data with real-time, auto-populated data and identify the epidemiology of handoff errors.study design:we defined nine core data elements for a nicu patient handoff. we then compared residents’ written and verbal handoffs against real-time, auto-populated data for each core element.result:a total of 101 nicu patient handoffs (31 unique patients) were analyzed. per patient, residents made more written errors for infants in critical-care beds than for infants in step-down beds (2.33 vs 1.67, p=0.04). replacing residents’ written handoffs with the gold-standard, auto-populated data would have prevented 92% of written errors.conclusion:nicu infants are subjected to many handoff errors. sicker infants are at higher risk for error. auto-population can reduce written handoff errors and allow residents more time for training and educational opportunities.