Multi-disciplinary handover: An observational study of common and unique content in general internal medicine, surgery and the ED research protocol

Up to now, handover studies have typically involved one health care professional group or a single hospital department. Using distributed cognition and cognitive work analysis as frameworks, this ethnographic study is intended to identify the common and unique elements of handover of care in three different hospital departments (Internal Medicine, General Surgery, and Emergency Medicine), with all professional groups that conduct handover. In addition, feedback will be sought from patients and their families on the content of handovers as well as the handover process.