Data Shows 40% Reported Reduction in Patient Harms Among Participating GME Programs

BOSTON – January 24, 2022 – I-PASS, the go-to method for reducing medical error and patient harm for hundreds of hospitals and healthcare providers nationwide, announced today they more than doubled the number of residency and medical schools actively implementing their proven handoff and care coordination method in the year 2021. As of December 31, 2021, more than 70% of handoffs from I-PASS GME programs fully adhered to the proven I-PASS structure. Most importantly, these programs recognized a 40% reduction in reported harms to patients post-implementation.

The newest group of institutions includes GME programs within Northwell Health, University of Michigan Health System and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. I-PASS also welcomed two of the leading Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine to its client list. In addition, I-PASS expanded application to new care areas, including mental and behavioral health facilities. This growth represents an important step to delivering on I-PASS’s goal to provide medical education programs across the country with a standardized, clinically proven handoff communication method to improve patient safety.

The I-PASS GME Program, which fulfills Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Transition of Care requirements, offers solutions for training incoming residents in an evidence-based handoff communication method that is clinically proven to reduce patient harm and improve provider workflow. Breakdowns in communication—either miscommunication or the lack of information being transferred—can be costly, fatal and contribute significantly to inefficiency in the delivery of care. Each year, as many as 251,000 patients die in the United States due to medical errors, and communication failures are the leading cause of those errors. These sentinel events—the most serious adverse events—often occur when there is a breakdown in communication from one care team to the next during transitions of patient care.

By implementing a standard training solution, residents will learn from day one to incorporate structured handoffs and care transitions into their shift change routine. Standardizing the solution helps physicians communicate with each other more effectively and improves patient outcomes.

“Training incoming residents to conduct reliable handoffs is a critical part of a comprehensive strategy to ensure patient safety,” Dr. Christopher Landrigan, MD, MPH, Co-Founder of the I-PASS Patient Safety Institute and Chief of General Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Implementing a standard protocol for handoffs helps ensure that care plans are carried out seamlessly and patients are kept on the path to recovery.”

Using an out-of-the-box solution can ease the stress of adding yet another item to the agenda for new resident orientation. Tools such as I-PASS Training Platform can provide each resident with the knowledge and practice they need to be successful in perfecting the patient handoff.

"I-PASS has made a significant improvement in patient safety at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, and we are now spreading it across Stanford Medical Center as well. As a residency program director, I have seen how easy it is to teach and implement. This is the single most effective patient safety educational bundle that I have seen in my 9 years of program leadership,” said Becky Blankenburg, MD, MPH, Associate Chair of Education Pediatrics Residency Program Director, Stanford School of Medicine.

The I-PASS Bundled Solutions for GME Programs ensure all residents are trained on a structured handoff method, collect observation data to track progress, adherence, and feedback, and provide residents with optimal tools for facilitating the written handoff process. For convenience, and continued safety throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I-PASS has developed and operationalized a cloud-based solution which supports its Training and Program Management services

To learn more about the I-PASS Bundled Solutions for Residency programs, click here. Register here for our 2022 GME Residency webinar series with Dr. Landrigan to learn how to bring the I-PASS GME Program to your institution.

About I-PASS

The I-PASS Patient Safety Institute is a clinical leader in patient safety, enabling a standard of care for patient handoffs and closed-loop communication. Founded by clinicians in 2016, the I-PASS Institute leverages expert mentorship paired with technology and digital tools to scale the I-PASS methodology. The I-PASS Institute’s solution, the I-PASS Bundle, consists of three core technical components—I-PASS Training, I-PASS Assessment and Improvement, and I-PASS eVIEW. When all three platforms are used in unison and with the guidance of an expert coach, institutions are able to reduce patient harm caused by miscommunication. Currently implemented in more than 100 institutions, the organization’s clients span high-reliability organizations, from pediatrics and residency programs to nursing and transition of care with families. Learn more at www.ipassinstitute.com.