Prevent Patient Harm Research Articles

Robotics can decrease the rate of post-operative ventral hernia: a single centre retrospective cohort study.

Midline incision for extra-corporeal anastomosis is common with traditional laparoscopic right hemicolectomy. Incisional hernias develop in up to 20% of these patients within a year adding considerable morbidity and healthcare costs. Robotic assisted surgery (RAS) improves technical ease of intra-corporeal anastomosis, preventing midline extraction but its benefit over laparoscopy remains debated. We aimed to determine if robotic assisted surgery and Pfannenstiel extraction decreased the rate of radiologically detected incisional hernias compared to standard laparoscopy with extra-corporeal anastomosis. The secondary outcomes aimed to evaluate incidence of port site hernias in 8mm robotic ports for which routine closure is not followed. Our single centre retrospective cohort study included patients who had minimally invasive right hemicolectomy and had cross-sectional imaging at least 1-year later. Patient demographics, body mass index, history of smoking or previous surgery was recorded. At imaging, evidence of new extraction site or port site-site hernia, contents and clinical impact was noted. A total of 100 patients (50 robotic and 50 laparoscopic) were included. Baseline characteristics appeared equally distributed. 16% (8 patients) who had laparoscopic surgery developed midline extraction site hernias which was significantly higher to RAS group (0 patients). 3 patients developed hernias at the site of robotic ports and this was more commonly at the right iliac fossa port. RAS, by simplifying intra-corporeal anastomosis has potential to eliminate incisional hernias, particularly when Pfannenstiel extraction is used. The potential for 8mm robotic ports to develop clinically significant hernias cannot be ignored and meticulous closure can prevent patient harm.

Detecting clinical medication errors with AI enabled wearable cameras

Drug-related errors are a leading cause of preventable patient harm in the clinical setting. We present the first wearable camera system to automatically detect potential errors, prior to medication delivery. We demonstrate that using deep learning algorithms, our system can detect and classify drug labels on syringes and vials in drug preparation events recorded in real-world operating rooms. We created a first-of-its-kind large-scale video dataset from head-mounted cameras comprising 4K footage across 13 anesthesiology providers, 2 hospitals and 17 operating rooms over 55 days. The system was evaluated on 418 drug draw events in routine patient care and a controlled environment and achieved 99.6% sensitivity and 98.8% specificity at detecting vial swap errors. These results suggest that our wearable camera system has the potential to provide a secondary check when a medication is selected for a patient, and a chance to intervene before a potential medical error.

Community Nurses' Experiences Assessing Early-Stage Pressure Injuries in People With Dark Skin Tones: A Qualitative Descriptive Analysis.

To examine community nurses' experiences of caring for people with dark skin tones at high risk of developing a pressure injury. Qualitative descriptive design. Focus groups and individual semi-structured interviews were conducted among registered nurses working in the community between November 2023 and March 2024. Thematic analysis was used. The findings reveal the lack of nurse education on diverse skin tones, how community nurses gain knowledge on skin tone diversity in the context of pressure injuries and the topics community nurses believe are crucial to improve the management of pressure injuries in patients with dark skin tones. The study highlights the gap in nurse education regarding diverse skin tones, revealing how community nurses acquire knowledge related to pressure injuries in patients with dark skin tones. This research could inform the development of targeted educational programmes and training initiatives, ultimately preventing patient harm and enhancing the quality of care and health outcomes for patients with dark skin tones. It provides valuable insights into key topics that community nurses consider essential for improving the early recognition and management of pressure injuries in people with darker skin tones. The research adhered to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guidelines. A project steering group contributed to the concept of the study and checked the interview questions were relevant and suitable.

Enabling diagnostic excellence in the real world: Managing complexity, uncertainty and clinical responsibility.

Diagnostic error is a significant category within preventable patient harm, and it takes many years of effort to develop proficiency in diagnostic reasoning. One of the key challenges medical schools must address is preparing students for the complexity, uncertainty and clinical responsibility in going from student to doctor. Recognising the importance of both cognitive and systems-related factors in diagnostic accuracy, we designed the QUID Prompt (Questions to Use for Improving Diagnosis) for students to refer to at the bedside. This set of questions prompts careful consideration, analysis, and signposting of decision-making processes, to assist students in transitioning from medical school to the real-world of work and achieving diagnostic excellence in clinical settings.

Detection of anticoagulant medication errors by triggers

Medication errors can cause preventable adverse events. For example, inappropriate use of anticoagulants (AC) can result in bleeding and thromboembolic complications. Detection and analysis of AC medication errors allow to reveal deficiencies in the safety systems in healthcare organizations. The study was aimed to develop a method of systematic detection of anticoagulant medication errors for consequent audit, analysis and development of medication safety improvement measures. The study was conducted in the multidisciplinary hospital and included 4924 patients admitted from January 2019 to December 2021 who received AC. Three laboratory triggers (international normalized ratio ≥4, serum creatinine ≥133 μmol/l, and glomerulofiltration rate <30 ml/min/1.73 m2) helped to reveal 4304 cases. Their matching with patient's data helped to develop combined triggers. Two clinical pharmacologists reviewed all cases identified by combined triggers for checking medication errors. The trigger was considered positive when anticoagulant medication error was detected in the history selected by combined trigger. Of the 4924 patients 253 (5.3%) were selected by combined triggers. Combined trigger allowed to reduce the amount of medical health records audit by 97.3%. Medication errors were detected in 137 patients. Positive predictive value of selected combined triggers varied from 0 to 63.9%. Aggregated positive predictive value of all combined triggers amounted to 54.2%. AC medication errors were detected in 2.8% patients. Method of systematic detection of AC medication errors using combined triggers in all hospitalized patients receiving AC allowed to reveal typical medication errors for consequent analysis and elaboration of measures to reduce preventable patient harm in healthcare settings.

A survey and analysis of peri-operative quality indicators promoted by National Societies of Anaesthesiologists in Europe: The EQUIP project.

To capture preventable peri-operative patient harm and guide improvement initiatives, many quality indicators (QIs) have been developed. Several National Anaesthesiologist Societies (NAS) in Europe have implemented quality indicators. To date, the definitions, validity and dissemination of such quality indicators, and their comparability with validated published indicators are unknown. The aim of this study was to identify all quality indicators promoted by NAS in Europe, to assess their characteristics and to compare them with published validated quality indicators. A cross-sectional study with mixed methods analysis. Using a survey questionnaire, representatives of 37 NAS were asked if their society provided quality indicators to their members and, if so, to provide the list, definitions and details of quality indicators. Characteristics of reported quality indicators were analysed. The 37 NAS affiliated with the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) at the time. Data collection, translations: March 2018 to February 2020. Representatives of all 37 NAS completed the survey. QIs reported by NAS. Only 12 (32%) of the 37 NAS had made a set of quality indicators available to their members. Data collection was mandatory in six (16.2%) of the 37 countries. We identified 163 individual quality indicators, which were most commonly descriptive (60.1%), anaesthesia-specific (50.3%) and related to intra-operative care (21.5%). They often measured structures (41.7%) and aspects of safety (35.6%), appropriateness (20.9%) and prevention (16.6%). Patient-centred care (3.7%) was not well covered. Only 11.7% of QIs corresponded to published validated or well established quality indicator sets. Few NAS in Europe promoted peri-operative quality indicators. Most of them differed from published sets of validated indicators and were often related to the structural dimension of quality. There is a need to establish a European-wide comprehensive core set of usable and validated quality indicators to monitor the quality of peri-operative care. No registration.

What does ‘safe care’ mean in the context of community-based mental health services? A qualitative exploration of the perspectives of service users, carers, and healthcare providers in England

BackgroundHaving traditionally received limited attention in empirical research and safety improvement agendas, issues of patient safety in mental healthcare increasingly feature in healthcare quality improvement discourses. Dominant approaches to safety stem from narrow clinical risk management perspectives, yet existing evidence points to the limitations of this characterisation. Although mental healthcare is increasingly delivered in community-based settings, narratives of safety pertain primarily to hospital-based mental healthcare. Therefore, through exploratory qualitative interviews and one focus group, we aimed to examine how service users, carers, and healthcare providers conceptualise ‘patient safety’ in community-based mental healthcare.MethodsSemi-structured interviews and a single focus group were conducted with users of UK community-based mental healthcare provision for adults (n = 13), their carers (n = 12), and providers (n = 18), who were diverse in characteristics and experiences. Study data were analysed in accordance with a reflexive approach to thematic analysis.FindingsFour key themes were developed, reflecting contrasting conceptualisations of safety in this care context, where participant thinking evolved throughout discussions. ‘Systemic inertia: threats to safety’ characterises the entrenched, systemic challenges which rendered participants powerless to advocate for or deliver safe care. ‘Managing the risks service users present’ equates ‘safe care’ to the mitigation of risks service users may pose to themselves or others when unwell, or risks from those around them. ‘More than responding to risks: everyone plays a role in creating safety’ recognises providers’ agency in causing or proactively preventing patient harm. Finally, ‘The goals of ‘safety’: our destination is not yet in sight’ positions safety as a work in progress, calling for ambitious safety agendas, giving primacy to goals which meaningfully improve service users’ lives.ConclusionsOur findings have implications for the understanding and improvement of patient safety in community-based mental healthcare settings, where improvement objectives should transcend beyond management of risks and preventing deterioration to address patient and carer-centred concerns, including practices that make people feel unsafe.

Data Preparation for Supervised Learning: Improving Nursing Situation Awareness to Reduce Healthcare-Acquired Urinary Tract Infection.

Situation awareness (SA) is an important non-technical skill for nurses. Nurses interact directly with patients and review their clinical signs. If we improve nurses' SA, they will likely detect clinical changes and prevent patient harm. A clinical endeavor that can benefit from improved nurses' SA is the prevention of Healthcare-Acquired Urinary Tract Infection (HAUTI). Electronic Health Records contain comprehensive nursing assessment data that researchers can use to analyze trends and provide a context-based understanding of the infection risk factors. We conducted a study that involved extracting nursing assessment data and preparing it for supervised learning algorithms and predicting HAUTI. In this paper, we share the methods we used to prepare the data for supervised learning algorithms and present the challenges related to data missingness.

Measuring the impact of pharmaceutical care bundle delivery on patient outcomes: an observational study.

Clinical pharmacists perform activities to optimise medicines use and prevent patient harm. Historically, clinical pharmacy quality indicators have measured individual activities not linked to patient outcomes. To determine the proportion of patients who receive a pharmaceutical care bundle (PCB) (consisting of a medication history, medication review, discharge medication list and medicines information on the discharge summary) as well as investigate the relationship between delivery of this PCB and patient outcomes. Pharmaceutical care bundle activities were defined within state-wide (Queensland, Australia)clinical information systems and datasets were linked. An observational study using routinely recorded data was performed at ten participating sites for adult patients who had a non-same day hospital stay. The association between extent of PCB delivery and three patient outcomes were investigated: length of stay (LOS), unplanned readmission, and mortality. In total 283,813 patient hospital stays were evaluated. The delivery of the PCB occurred in 26.9% of patients at the ten participating hospital sites, ranging from 0.6 to 61.2% across sites. Patients with a longer LOS were more likely to receive delivery of the complete PCB (P < 0.001). There was no correlation between PCB and hospital standardised mortality ratio (r = 0.03, p = 0.93). Higher rates of delivery of the PCB were associated with lower rates of unplanned readmission within 30 days (r = - 0.993, p < 0.001). A complete PCB was delivered to 26.9% of patients and was associated with a significantly lower rate of unplanned readmission within 30 days.

Speaking Up: Exploring Mental Health Care Workers' Patient Safety Concerns.

To explore the perspectives and experiences of mental health care workers (MHCWs) when speaking up about patient safety concerns. A qualitative study was performed at Farshchian (Sina) Hospital in Iran, involving the purposive sampling of MHCWs from three inpatient psychiatric wards. From July to October 2022, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 participants. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Three major patient safety themes were identified: (a) Voicing Concerns for Daily Safety (subthemes: daily safety check-ins and speaking up to prevent patient harm); (b) Speaking Up to Save Future Lives (subthemes: whistleblowing, leadership, and being open to communication); and (c) Hesitating to Speak Up (sub-themes: ineffectiveness of raising one's voice and whispering). MHCWs have various concerns about speaking up or staying silent. Failure to communicate can result in adverse events and missed opportunities to address patient safety. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, xx(x), xx-xx.].

Using Mixed Reality Simulation to Improve Junior Medical Trainees’ Preparedness to Manage High-Acuity Trauma

High-acuity trauma necessitates experienced and rapid intervention to prevent patient harm. However, upskilling junior trainees through hands-on management of real trauma cases is rarely feasible without compromising patient safety. This...

Improving Accuracy of Medication Reconciliation for Hospitalized Children: A Quality Project.

Medication reconciliation is a complex, but necessary, process to prevent patient harm from medication discrepancies. Locally, the steps of medication reconciliation are completed consistently; however, medication errors still occur, which suggest process inaccuracies. We focused on removal of unnecessary medications as a proxy for accuracy. The primary aim was to increase the percentage of patients admitted to the pediatric hospital medicine service with at least 1 medication removed from the home medication list by 10% during the hospital stay by June of 2022. Using the Model for Improvement, a multidisciplinary team was formed at a children's hospital, a survey was completed, and multiple Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles were done focusing on: 1. simplifying electronic health record processes by making it easier to remove medications; 2. continuous resident education about the electronic health record processes to improve efficiency and address knowledge gaps; and 3. auditing charts and real-time feedback. Data were monitored with statistical process control charts. The project exceeded the goal, improving from 35% to 48% of patients having at least 1 medication removed from their home medication list. Improvement has sustained for 12 months. The combination of interventions including simplifying workflow, improving education, and enhancing accountability resulted in more patients with medications removed from their home medication list.

Commonly prescribed medicines, core prescribing indicators, and prescription errors in a tertiary healthcare setting in Sri Lanka: a descriptive cross-sectional study

Abstract Objectives To describe the commonly prescribed medicines, WHO/INRUD core prescribing indicators, and prescription errors from a tertiary healthcare setting in Sri Lanka. Methods This study was conducted at clinics and wards in a group of tertiary hospitals from Colombo, Sri Lanka. A total of 1600 prescriptions (800 in-ward [IW] and 800 out-patient clinic [OP]) were analysed and evaluated against WHO/INRUD core prescribing indicators. Prescription errors and medication interactions were also analysed. Key findings Number of medicines per encounter on average was 4.2 ± 2.9 (median: 4.0; range: 1–18) (IW vs. OP: 5.0 ± 3.1 vs. 3.4 ± 2.1; P &amp;lt; 0.001). Overall, the percentage of prescriptions with an antibiotic was 25.9% (n = 415) (IW vs. OP: 45.0% vs. 6.9%, P &amp;lt; 0.001). Percentage of encounters with an injection was 20.4% (n = 326) (IW vs. OP: 36.9% vs. 3.9%, P &amp;lt; 0.001) and percentage of medicine prescribed by generic name was 90.7% (IW 92.9% vs. OP 87.3%, P &amp;lt; 0.001). Prescribing from the essential medicines list (EML) was 76.9% (IW 77.7% vs. OP 75.7%, P-NS). Among IW prescriptions details regarding allergies were not mentioned in 643 (80.4%), while in paediatric prescriptions weight was not specified in 242 (75.6%). At least a single abbreviation was used in 638 prescriptions (39.9%). One or more medication interactions were identified in 744 (46.5%) prescriptions (major: 86 [5.4%]). Conclusions We identified a relatively high number of average medicines per encounter, indicating a degree of polypharmacy. In addition, generic prescribing and usage of EML medicines are areas recommended for further improvement. Prescription errors were common, and several commission/omission errors had potential for preventable patient harm.

Barriers to implementing patient safety incident reporting and learning guidelines in specialised care units, KwaZulu-Natal: A qualitative study.

Globally, increased occurrences of patient safety incidents have become a public concern. The implementation of Patient safety incidents reporting and learning guidelines is fundamental to reducing preventable patient harm. To improve the implementation of these guidelines in specialised care units in KwaZulu-Natal, the views of healthcare professionals were unearthed. This study explores the healthcare professionals' views toward the implementation of Patient safety incident reporting and learning guidelines in specialised care units. A descriptive, explorative qualitative approach was used to collect qualitative data from healthcare professionals working in specialised care units. The study was conducted in specialised care units of three purposely selected public hospitals in two districts of KwaZulu-Natal. Group discussions and semi-structured interviews were conducted from August to October 2021. Content data analysis was performed using Tesch's method of analysis process. The main themes that emerged during data analysis were; ineffective reporting system affecting the communication of Patient safety incident guidelines, inadequate institutional and management support for the healthcare professionals, insufficient education and training of healthcare professionals, and poor human resources affecting the implementation of Patient Safety Incident guidelines. The findings highlighted that there were more major barriers to the implementation of the Patient safety incident reporting and learning guidelines. This study confirmed that the Patient safety incident reporting and learning guidelines are still not successfully implemented in the specialised care units and the barriers to implementation were highlighted. For rigorous implementation in South Africa, the study recommends revised Patient safety incident reporting and learning guidelines, designed in consultation with the frontline healthcare professionals. These must consist of standardised, simple- user-friendly reporting process as well as a better implementation strategy to guide the healthcare professionals. Continuous professional development programmes may play an important role in the facilitation of the implementation process.

A Quality Improvement Project to Reduce Rapid Response System Inequities for Patients with Limited English Proficiency at a Quaternary Academic Medical Center.

Recognition of clinically deteriorating hospitalized patients with activation of rapid response (RR) systems can prevent patient harm. Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP), however, experience less benefit from RR systems than do their English-speaking counterparts. To improve outcomes among hospitalized LEP patients experiencing clinical deteriorations. Quasi-experimental pre-post design using quality improvement (QI) statistics. All adult hospitalized non-intensive care patients with LEP who were admitted to a large academic medical center from May 2021 through March 2023 and experienced RR system activation were included in the evaluation. All patients included after May 2022 were exposed to the intervention. Implementation of a modified RR system for LEP patients in May 2022 that included electronic dashboard monitoring of early warning scores (EWSs) based on electronic medical record data; RR nurse initiation of consults or full RR system activation; and systematic engagement of interpreters. Process of care measures included monthly rates of RR system activation, critical response nurse consultations, and disease severity scores prior to activation. Main outcomes included average post-RR system activation length of stay, escalation of care, and in-hospital mortality. Analyses used QI statistics to identify special cause variation in pre-post control charts based on monthly data aggregates. In total, 222 patients experienced at least one RR system activation during the study period. We saw no special cause variation for process measures, or for length of hospitalization or escalation of care. There was, however, special cause variation in mortality rates with an overall pre-post decrease in average monthly mortality from 7.42% (n = 8/107) to 6.09% (n = 7/115). In this pilot study, prioritized tracking, utilization of EWS-triggered evaluations, and interpreter integration into the RR system for LEP patients were feasible to implement and showed promise for reducing post-RR system activation mortality.

A Machine Learning Approach with Human-AI Collaboration for Automated Classification of Patient Safety Event Reports: Algorithm Development and Validation Study.

Adverse events refer to incidents with potential or actual harm to patients in hospitals. These events are typically documented through patient safety event (PSE) reports, which consist of detailed narratives providing contextual information on the occurrences. Accurate classification of PSE reports is crucial for patient safety monitoring. However, this process faces challenges due to inconsistencies in classifications and the sheer volume of reports. Recent advancements in text representation, particularly contextual text representation derived from transformer-based language models, offer a promising solution for more precise PSE report classification. Integrating the machine learning (ML) classifier necessitates a balance between human expertise and artificial intelligence (AI). Central to this integration is the concept of explainability, which is crucial for building trust and ensuring effective human-AI collaboration. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of ML classifiers trained using contextual text representation in automatically classifying PSE reports. Furthermore, the study presents an interface that integrates the ML classifier with the explainability technique to facilitate human-AI collaboration for PSE report classification. This study used a data set of 861 PSE reports from a large academic hospital's maternity units in the Southeastern United States. Various ML classifiers were trained with both static and contextual text representations of PSE reports. The trained ML classifiers were evaluated with multiclass classification metrics and the confusion matrix. The local interpretable model-agnostic explanations (LIME) technique was used to provide the rationale for the ML classifier's predictions. An interface that integrates the ML classifier with the LIME technique was designed for incident reporting systems. The top-performing classifier using contextual representation was able to obtain an accuracy of 75.4% (95/126) compared to an accuracy of 66.7% (84/126) by the top-performing classifier trained using static text representation. A PSE reporting interface has been designed to facilitate human-AI collaboration in PSE report classification. In this design, the ML classifier recommends the top 2 most probable event types, along with the explanations for the prediction, enabling PSE reporters and patient safety analysts to choose the most suitable one. The LIME technique showed that the classifier occasionally relies on arbitrary words for classification, emphasizing the necessity of human oversight. This study demonstrates that training ML classifiers with contextual text representations can significantly enhance the accuracy of PSE report classification. The interface designed in this study lays the foundation for human-AI collaboration in the classification of PSE reports. The insights gained from this research enhance the decision-making process in PSE report classification, enabling hospitals to more efficiently identify potential risks and hazards and enabling patient safety analysts to take timely actions to prevent patient harm.

Development and usability testing of a patient digital twin for critical care education: a mixed methods study.

Digital twins are computerized patient replicas that allow clinical interventions testing in silico to minimize preventable patient harm. Our group has developed a novel application software utilizing a digital twin patient model based on electronic health record (EHR) variables to simulate clinical trajectories during the initial 6 h of critical illness. This study aimed to assess the usability, workload, and acceptance of the digital twin application as an educational tool in critical care. A mixed methods study was conducted during seven user testing sessions of the digital twin application with thirty-five first-year internal medicine residents. Qualitative data were collected using a think-aloud and semi-structured interview format, while quantitative measurements included the System Usability Scale (SUS), NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), and a short survey. Median SUS scores and NASA-TLX were 70 (IQR 62.5-82.5) and 29.2 (IQR 22.5-34.2), consistent with good software usability and low to moderate workload, respectively. Residents expressed interest in using the digital twin application for ICU rotations and identified five themes for software improvement: clinical fidelity, interface organization, learning experience, serious gaming, and implementation strategies. A digital twin application based on EHR clinical variables showed good usability and high acceptance for critical care education.

Using the Operating Room Black Box to Assess Surgical Team Member Adaptation Under Uncertainty: An Observational Study.

Identify how surgical team members uniquely contribute to teamwork and adapt their teamwork skills during instances of uncertainty. The importance of surgical teamwork in preventing patient harm is well documented. Yet, little is known about how key roles (nurse, anesthesiologist, surgeon, and medical trainee) uniquely contribute to teamwork during instances of uncertainty, particularly when adapting to and rectifying an intraoperative adverse event (IAE). Audiovisual data of 23 laparoscopic cases from a large community teaching hospital were prospectively captured using OR Black Box. Human factors researchers retrospectively coded videos for teamwork skills (backup behavior, coordination, psychological safety, situation assessment, team decision-making, and leadership) by team role under 2 conditions of uncertainty: associated with an IAE versus no IAE. Surgeons identified IAEs. In all, 1015 instances of teamwork skills were observed. Nurses adapted to IAEs by expressing more backup behavior skills (5.3× increase; 13.9 instances/hour during an IAE vs 2.2 instances/hour when no IAE) while surgeons and medical trainees expressed more psychological safety skills (surgeons: 3.6× increase; 30.0 instances/hour vs 6.6 instances/hour and trainees: 6.6× increase; 31.2 instances/hour vs 4.1 instances/hour). All roles expressed fewer situation assessment skills during an IAE versus no IAE. OR Black Box enabled the assessment of critically important details about how team members uniquely contribute during instances of uncertainty. Some teamwork skills were amplified, while others dampened when dealing with IAEs. The knowledge of how each role contributes to teamwork and adapts to IAEs should be used to inform the design of tailored interventions to strengthen interprofessional teamwork.

Longer work experience and age associated with safety attitudes in operating room nurses: an online cross-sectional study

BackgroundPatient safety is fundamental when providing care in the operating room. Still, adverse events and errors are a challenge for patient safety worldwide. To avoid preventable patient harm, organisations need...

Definition of an Entrustable Professional Activity for interprofessional patient handover for nurses - an interview study / Definition einer Entrustable Professional Activity zur interprofessionellen Patientenübergabe für Pflegefachpersonen – eine Interviewstudie

Abstract Background Interprofessional patient handover between physicians and nurses is considered one of the most important professional activities for ensuring patient safety. Errors in interprofessional patient handover are a major cause of preventable patient harm. For this reason, nurses and physicians are expected to be competent in patient handover at the end of their training or studies. However, the topic of interprofessional patient handover is hardly addressed in German medical and nursing curricula. The concept of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA), which guarantees a high degree of theory-practice transfer, seems to be a promising teaching-learning approach in this context. An EPA for interprofessional patient handover already exists for the medical profession. However, this EPA is not transferable to the nursing profession and therefore needs to be defined for mono- or interprofessional nursing education. Methods Qualitative guided interviews were used to identify the structural and procedural conditions of an interprofessional patient handover situation for nurses. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results of the analysis were integrated into an EPA structure and validated by consensus. Results A total of 20 guided interviews were conducted with nurses (N = 9) and physicians (N = 11). Based on the results of the analyses and a consensus round, the EPA „Interprofessional patient handover and/or reception” for nurses could be defined. Conclusions Our findings provide a detailed picture of interprofessional patient handover in nursing. Furthermore, the EPA we presented for nurses, in conjunction with the EPA for interprofessional patient handover for physicians from the National Competence-Based Catalogue of Learning Objectives 2.0, enables the comprehensive recording and review of interprofessional patient handover in a clinical context.