Is hand-off communication required when a patient moves from an inpatient unit to radiology or other diagnostic testing unit?
A. Yes. The information communicated may be limited to what is relevant to the procedure, but it is a hand-off and should follow a standardized procedure. At the very least, this will ensure that staff in the testing area know that the patient is there and it will provide an opportunity to properly identify the patient and the test to be done. Organizations should strongly consider the inclusion of special precautions (e.g. isolation, fall risk or suicide risk) in the hand-off process.
