TY - JOUR T1 - Can we talk? The art (and science) of handoff conversation JF - BMJ Quality & Safety JO - BMJ Qual Saf SP - 63 LP - 65 DO - 10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004666 VL - 25 IS - 2 AU - Julie K Johnson AU - Vineet M Arora Y1 - 2016/02/01 UR - http://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/25/2/63.abstract N2 - Art and science have their meeting point in method.—Earl Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Caxtoniana (1875), 303The handoff or handover of patient care is not just a simple act of communication. It is a complex exchange of patient information that increases the likelihood of safe and effective care. We know that these transfers of care are a vulnerable link in patient care that is associated with preventable adverse events. It is especially concerning that effective handoff communication is not regularly or systematically taught to health professionals.It is the interaction between the ‘sender’ and the ‘receiver’ that matters. Accurate transmission from the sender is not sufficient and without questions may result in a handoff ‘telegram’.1 The solution to the telegram problem lies partly with the sender and the information they transmit and with the receiver and their ability to ask the right questions—the handoff conversation, so to speak.Three papers in this issue of BMJ Quality and Safety encourage us to think about the art, as well as the science, of the handoff conversation.2–4 In a study conducted at one Veteran's Affairs (VA) Medical Center in the USA, Bergman and colleagues ask whether our efforts to improve have created an over-reliance on technology and standardisation—that is, structured handoff frameworks or checklists focus on the mechanical aspects, but don't take into account the patient-specific context.3 They argue that in actuality we have created another vulnerability and that we may miss contextually sensitive information about anticipated events. ‘“Mr Smith's been our problem child”: anticipatory Management Communication (AMC) in VA end-of-shift medicine and nursing handoffs’ defines AMC as “a family of conversational strategies in which one party (typically the outgoing healthcare professional) informs or … ER -