Goal: Ensure safe transition to the next level of care.

Adverse events may occur due to poor handover of a patient from one level of care to another. The PFC provider’s job is not done until the receiving team understands the patient’s condition and can begin to manage the patient appropriately.

Summarize in organized format:

1. Overall condition of the patient: stable or unstable; better, same, or worse.
2. Mechanism of injury or illness
3. Injury(ies), current physical exam
4. Vital signs to include trends and urine output
5. Treatments (procedures, dressings, airway management, fluids, blood products, medications)

Minimum: Written handoff report that follows the MIST format (e.g., TCCC Card).

Better: Add the PFC flowsheet.

Best: Add a dedicated handoff sheet (e.g., SBAR handoff report2, PFC handoff report3).