Auditing Compliance with Handoff Standards of Trauma Patients Admitted to the Emergency Ward of the Hospital in a Northeastern City in 2023

Introduction: Transferring a patient from one care team to another is called handoff, which has a crucial role in care quality and patient safety. This study aimed to audit compliance with handoff standards of trauma patients admitted to the hospital by emergency medical service personnel. Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study, which focused on trauma patients, was carried out in a northeastern city during the first half of 2023. The sampling process was observational and event-based. The instrument of research was a researcher-designed checklist covering various dimensions of patient handoff standards. The validity was assessed by using qualitative face and content validity methods, while reliability was evaluated through inter-rater agreement. The data were analyzed through SPSS software version 24. Results: A total of 361 trauma patients were analyzed. The findings showed that the average score achieved by emergency medical personnel was 13.48, which was lower than the maximum achievable score of the tool. Among the nine key dimensions, the highest average score belonged to the explanation of the process (4.73), while the lowest was related to the mechanism of injury (0.27). Conclusion: The findings revealed that the score for compliance with handoff standards of patients was significantly lower than the average achievable score in most areas. Therefore, developing standard protocols and auditing compliance with handoff standards and their effect on the quality of patient care can be a crucial step toward enhancing patient safety.