Objective Research has shown that every year 30,000 European patients suffer preventable harm during treatment. It is estimated there were potentially 1,735 avoidable deaths in 2004. The financial cost of avoidable adverse events is reckoned at €167 million, 1% of hospitals’ total budget, due to longer hospital stays and additional treatment. Many of these adverse events relate to handoff in care. Poor continuity of clinical care (with multiple provider involvement), either at a patient’s referral to a hospital by a primary care specialist or at a patient’s discharge from the hospital, is a critical aspect of a patient’s care. Incomplete handoffs to a secondary/tertiary care unit or discharge from hospital can lead to adverse events for patients that may ultimately lead to either life threatening situations during treatment/surgery or avoidable treatment and / or re-hospitalizations after the patient’s discharge. Care transitions are especially important for vulnerable groups as the elder and the very young as for high-risk patients with multiple co-morbidities. The overall objective the HANDOVER project is optimize the continuum of clinical care at the primary care hospital interface by reducing unnecessary and avoidable treatment - medical errors and loss of life, by identifying and studying best practices and creating standardized approaches to handoff communication at the primary care hospital interface and measuring the effectiveness of these practices in terms of costs and impact. Handoffs take as many forms as there are handoff scenarios. The idea of developing a single approach for all handoffs is not likely to be possible due to the diversity and complexity of healthcare. HANDOVER will therefore aim at providing standardised basic elements in handoff processes, which can be tailored to meet local and/or institutional needs for flexibility. Fields of science medical and health sciencesclinical medicinesurgerysocial sciencessociologysocial issuessocial inequalities Keywords Handoffs Optimizing Primary Care Hospital Interface best practices measuring effectiveness standardized approaches to handoff communication Programme(s) FP7-HEALTH - Specific Programme "Cooperation": Health Topic(s) HEALTH-2007-3.1-6 - Continuity of clinical care Call for proposal FP7-HEALTH-2007-B See other projects for this call Funding Scheme CP-FP - Small or medium-scale focused research project Coordinator UNIVERSITAIR MEDISCH CENTRUM UTRECHT EU contribution € 676 800,00 Address HEIDELBERGLAAN 100 3584 CX Utrecht Netherlands See on map Region West-Nederland Utrecht Utrecht Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Loes Pijnenborg (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Participants (8) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all FUNDACION AVEDIS DONABEDIAN PARA LA MEJORA DE LA CALIDAD ASISTENCIAL Spain EU contribution € 236 400,00 Address CALLE PROVENZA 293 PRAL 08037 Barcelona See on map Region Este Cataluña Barcelona Activity type Other Administrative Contact Alvaro Melero (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM United Kingdom EU contribution € 306 000,00 Address Edgbaston B15 2TT Birmingham See on map Region West Midlands (England) West Midlands Birmingham Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Robert Fekete (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data CENTRUM MONITOROWANIA JAKOSCI W OCHRONIE ZDROWIA Poland EU contribution € 235 200,00 Address UL. SYROKOMLI 10 30 102 KRAKOW See on map Activity type Public bodies (excluding Research Organisations and Secondary or Higher Education Establishments) Administrative Contact Pawel Tyrka (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data AZIENDA SANITARIA DI FIRENZE Italy EU contribution € 259 200,00 Address PIAZZA SANTA MARIA NUOVA 1 50122 FIRENZE See on map Activity type Public bodies (excluding Research Organisations and Secondary or Higher Education Establishments) Administrative Contact Riccardo Ceroti (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data STICHTING RADBOUD UNIVERSITEIT Netherlands EU contribution € 319 200,00 Address HOUTLAAN 4 6525 XZ Nijmegen See on map Region Oost-Nederland Gelderland Arnhem/Nijmegen Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Angelo Piana Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data OPEN UNIVERSITEIT NEDERLAND Netherlands EU contribution € 262 800,00 Address VALKENBURGERWEG 177 6419 AT Heerlen See on map Region Zuid-Nederland Limburg (NL) Zuid-Limburg Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Marlies Timmermans (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Total cost No data KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET Participation ended Sweden EU contribution No data Address Nobels Vag 5 17177 Stockholm See on map Region Östra Sverige Stockholm Stockholms län Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Rolf Trana (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Karolinska University Hospital Sweden EU contribution € 327 600,00 Address Karolinska Universitets Sjukhuset, Solna 171 76 Stockholm See on map Administrative Contact Margareta Löfgren Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data