The use of digital patient handover systems in managing nurses' workload and patient safety: A scoping review
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33024/minh.v9i6.3885
Digital Handover Electronic Medical Record Nurses’ Workload Patient Safety SBAR Scoping Review
Abstract
Background: Digital transformation in healthcare has accelerated the implementation of digital patient handover systems as an effort to improve the quality of communication, patient safety, and the efficiency of nursing services. These systems were developed to address various limitations of conventional handover, which risk causing information loss, miscommunication, and an increased administrative workload for nurses.
Purpose: To identify and synthesize the scientific evidence regarding the use of digital patient handover systems in managing nurses’ workload and their impact on communication quality, patient safety, and continuity of care.
Method: A scoping review was conducted following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A literature search was performed in the Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases for articles published between 2021 and 2026. Of the 148 articles identified, 22 met the inclusion criteria after undergoing deduplication, screening, and eligibility assessment. JBI critical appraisal tools were used to assess methodological quality. Data were extracted and analyzed using a thematic descriptive approach.
Results: Four major themes emerged from the synthesis: improving the quality of handover communication, enhancing patient safety, optimizing digital nursing documentation, and managing nursing workload and staffing needs. The synthesis indicated that the use of electronic nursing handover, electronic medical records, and Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR)-based communication applications can facilitate more structured information transfer, improve documentation quality, enhance patient safety, and support more effective management of nursing workload and workforce resources.
Conclusion: Digital patient handover systems contribute positively to improving communication quality, patient safety, documentation effectiveness, and the management of nurses’ workload. The success of their implementation is influenced by organizational readiness, system quality, and users’ digital competencies.
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