# Handoff Effectiveness Research in periOperative environments (HERO) Collaborative Research Conference

> **NIH AHRQ R13** · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · $50,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Perioperative transfers-of-care or “handoffs” are high-risk, error-prone events known to contribute to patient
harm, yet there remain substantial evidence gaps with respect to the interventions clinicians and healthcare
organizations can implement to reliably decrease harm. Further, much of the current handoff research remains in
domain silos (e.g., hospitalists, nursing) limiting our ability to learn from each other and advance the field.
 The Multicenter Handoff Collaborative (MHC) was formed in October 2015 with the vision of eliminating
unintended harms during perioperative (i.e., pre- through post-operative) patient handoffs. Several meetings of the
collaborative have established that further research is necessary to generate solutions addressing this evidence gap, and
a meeting across disciplines is necessary to align stakeholders and begin to develop a thematic research strategy. We
are now requesting an AHRQ Conference Grant to support convening the Handoff Effectiveness Research in
periOperative environments (HERO) Collaborative Research Conference (CRC).
 The objective of the Handoff Effectiveness Research in periOperative environments (HERO) Collaborative
Research Conference (CRC) is to align relevant stakeholders and develop and disseminate a perioperative handoff
research agenda through the following specific aims:
Aim 1: Identify the Evidence Gaps. Review the evidence base on perioperative handoffs and care transitions to
identify: a) important knowledge and application gaps; and b) the strengths and shortcomings of available
process and outcomes measures that link best practices to improvements in patient safety.
Aim 2: Develop Thematic Research Strategy and Define Infrastructure Needs. Develop a thematic research
strategy and determine the infrastructure requirements for conducting rigorous multicenter studies capable of
demonstrating: a) reductions in harm associated with improved handoffs; b) scalable implementation strategies;
and c) education curricula capable of building competencies in team-based communication.
Aim 3: Promote Stakeholder Synergy. Characterize the interests, priorities and capabilities of all of the major
stakeholders to facilitate the conduct of multi-center perioperative handoff trials, and the subsequent rapid
dissemination and translation of best practices that reduce patient harms and are generalizable to other
domains.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10093864
- **Project number:** 1R13HS027769-01
- **Recipient organization:** UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Philip Edmund Greilich
- **Activity code:** R13 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $50,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10093864

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10093864, Handoff Effectiveness Research in periOperative environments (HERO) Collaborative Research Conference (1R13HS027769-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10093864. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*