Provider-to-provider communication during transitions of care from outpatient to acute care: a systematic review.

Luu NP, Pitts S, Petty B, et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2015 Dec 21; [Epub ahead of print].

Although transitions in care have been an active area of patient safety research, most of the focus has been on handoffs during hospitalization or the transition from acute to outpatient care. Exploring the literature on provider–provider communication at the time patients present to an emergency department or are admitted to the hospital, this systematic review found that few studies evaluate this issue and research on outcomes has been meager.