uncertain.57 These authors concluded that formulaic
approaches to handoffs will not adequately deal
with critical care uncertainty and complexity.57
Others have warned against the use of standardized
handoffs for physicians, stating that this will tend to
“exacerbate the common problems of handoffs being
‘data transfers’ rather than meaningful discussions
about the patient’s status and treatment.”58(p93)
Limitations
The current study is limited by the Ovid search
strategy used. Specifically, the selected search terms
may not have included all relevant terms. We