Many factors contribute to exceptional patient care. Perhaps the most important factor is a patient’s clinical team. When caring for a patient, clinicians strive to provide a positive, patient-centered care experience – one that allows for timely access to care, follows best practices, and is free from harm. However, even if a patient has a highly talented clinical team, if the handoff process is ineffective, the patient may not only have a negative care experience, but there’s also a greater chance for error or harm. 

The most common issues with the handoff process are related to communication errors during the transfer of patient information from one clinician to another. Multiple reports from the Joint Commission determined that communication failures continue to be the cause of more than 70% of sentinel events.¹ A structured handoff procedure and the right tools can help improve the continuity and safety of patient care. 

While the transition of patient information is complex, the process can be simplified and safeguarded with the use of digital handoff tools. To improve verbal and written communication, I-PASS developed the eVIEW platform, a HIPAA-compliant digital companion tool that supports the day-to-day needs of handoff communication. Next, we’ll explain a few reasons why your institution’s patient safety strategy needs a highly reliable digital handoff tool.

Easily accessible via your EHR

Electronic health record (EHR) platforms play a critical role in providing critical and timely patient information. Relatedly, a core feature of the I-PASS Bundle is the ability to integrate with EHRs. I-PASS eVIEW is now available across all major EHR vendors. The eVIEW platform receives real-time data from your EHR, which is integral to the most successful implementation, adoption, and sustainment of the I-PASS methodology.

The eVIEW platform can be easily integrated and configured to any EHR. With eVIEW integration, clinicians can effectively facilitate routine and highly reliable handoffs of patient information and data. In addition, the eVIEW system comes with a library of templates developed by clinicians for clinicians– the primary source of information used to support the verbal handoff process.

Seamless customization, reporting, and sharing

Building unique handoff templates is a redundant and time-consuming task for the clinical team. I-PASS removes this burden for clinicians by providing pre-built templates that cover 85% of major healthcare specialties, including emergency medicine, internal medicine, family medicine, surgery, ophthalmology, and more.²

In addition, the eVIEW templates are highly customizable and easy to update and change. Clinicians can mix and match templates, adjust font size, and adapt other criteria to meet the needs of each clinical unit. The templates can be quickly adapted and immediately applied in other care areas.

To support handoffs across the team, the eVIEW templates allow for easy and clean printing that clearly presents the data for each patient. Depending on their workflow, clinicians can choose a print view, sort by criteria such as illness severity or patient name, and toggle notes on or off.

Conserve essential resources

By integrating eVIEW with the EHR, your institution will be on a highly cost-effective path to measurably improve your patient safety culture. Once eVIEW is integrated, your organization can operate up to 80% faster than if the clinical team were building templates individually. When written handoff templates run on eVIEW, you can streamline workflows and reduce resources. The eVIEW modules auto-populate critical data elements from the EHR, slashing minutes of manual data entry from multiple sources of information.

In addition to preserving clinical resources, your institution’s IT department will also benefit from eVIEW. The platform is delivered in compliance with industry standards for privacy and security through the fully encrypted read-only interface. Also, since multiple care specialties can share and update the eVIEW templates in real-time, there’s no need for additional IT resources.

Build upon the I-PASS bundle

The eVIEW platform is anchored by the I-PASS suite of solutions, including three core features supported through digital platforms – learning, measurement, and EHR integration. Now that eVIEW is available to integrate with all major EHRs, its even easier for institutions to implement and ultimately reduce communication failures during patient handoffs.

The eVIEW platform is ideal for team-based care scenarios as it provides a digitized solution for verbal and written communication. By leveraging eVIEW, clinicians can easily adopt and sustain the I-PASS method across their institutions, increasing reliability and patient safety.

If your institution hasn’t adopted the I-PASS methodology yet, eVIEW integration would be included with the I-PASS Bundle. If your institution already utilizes I-PASS, eVIEW can be integrated with your EHR. Before integration, I-PASS partners with your clinical and technical stakeholders to understand your institutional environment and set the implementation timeline.

For more information about implementing eVIEW or the I-PASS methodology, click here. 

1. Dingley C, Daugherty K, Derieg MK, et al. Improving Patient Safety Through Provider Communication Strategy Enhancements. In: Henriksen K, Battles JB, Keyes MA, et al., editors. Advances in Patient Safety: New Directions and Alternative Approaches (Vol. 3: Performance and Tools). Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2008 Aug.
2. Source: Association of Medical Colleges. List of specialties covered by templates to be confirmed by I-PASS.