A Review of Verbal and Written Patient Handoffs Applicable to the U.S. Military's Expeditionary Care System.

The findings in this review highlight the need for standardized tools and techniques for patient handoffs in the U.S. Military's expeditionary care system. Future research is needed to trial verbal and nonverbal handoffs under field conditions to gather observational data to assess effectiveness. The results of our gap analyses may provide researchers insight for determining which handoffs to study. If standardized handoffs are utilized, training programs should incorporate the four critical elements into their curricula.