September 6, 2023 by matray

I-PASS Patient Safety Institute (I-PASS), an authority on highly reliable clinical handoffs, announced it is working with Coverys to offer a structured communication tool to hospitals nationwide. For more than 15 years, I-PASS has provided hundreds of healthcare institutions with the methodology, platform and training to implement best-in-class clinical handoffs that capture critical patient information, prevent communication breakdowns, and significantly improve patient safety. I-PASS will now be offered to select hospitals at no cost. The funds for this program have been made available through the Coverys Community Healthcare Foundation, Inc., through its Transitions in Care grant program.

Of the hospitals that applied to the grant’s call for nominations, up to three recipients will be selected to participate in the pilot program. The program will offer access to the full I-PASS handoff bundle, hands-on training and EHR integration to help these institutions reduce medical errors that occur due to miscommunication and poor patient handoffs. The grant recipients will be announced in fall of 2023.

A recent analysis by the Joint Commission identified communication breakdowns as the leading cause of sentinel events, which have increased by 78% from 2020 to 2022. With communication breakdowns, handoffs are a particularly vulnerable time for communication failures and can lead to serious or fatal medical errors. Further, hospitals and medical professional liability (MPL) organizations are seeing a steady rise in claims severity and medical malpractice nuclear verdicts. A 2022 study published in the Journal of Patient Safety shows that nearly half of all medical malpractice cases involve miscommunication, 77% of which could be prevented with a proper handoff tool.

“We recognize that in this challenging time in healthcare, proactive strategies are what’s going to drive meaningful change in patient safety,” said Dana Siegal, vice president of risk management and analytics at Coverys. “The Coverys team is committed to being part of this positive progress and bringing highly reliable handoff communications to hospitals to improve care delivery and experience. We’re looking forward to collaborating with I-PASS to bring world-class solutions to our providers.”

“I-PASS and Coverys are deeply aligned on the importance of advancing patient safety and mitigating risk through structured communication,” said William Floyd, CEO of I-PASS. “Seeing all sides of the ecosystem collaborating towards the same mission is heartening. When we implement solutions that are proven to address the root cause of harmful events, we create a higher standard of care and a system where everyone wins.”

The I-PASS handoff method was first established by the I-PASS Study Group – a team of clinicians determined to create a blueprint for safer handoffs that captured often-missed patient information. The I-PASS handoff bundle is a direct result of their cumulative experience and research. The bundle offers a universal structure that enables caregivers across clinical settings to communicate patient information reliably and uniformly. Today, I-PASS Institute coaches and clinical leaders work with hospitals to help them adopt the I-PASS methodology through planning, implementation, training, and ultimately, sustained behavior and positive culture change. The cumulative effect is a more positive care experience for all parties and the opportunity to significantly reduce preventable adverse events.