Patient safety strategies in care transitions: Integrative review

Abstract

Introduction: Patient safety is essential for healthcare quality, especially during care transitions, which are a critical point in healthcare. During these times, responsibilities and information are transferred between different levels of care, with the goal of ensuring continuity of care and patient safety. Objective: Analyze the scientific production on patient safety strategies applied to care transitions. Methods: This is an integrative literature review, with searches in several databases, covering articles published between 2014 and 2024. Only full-text articles in Portuguese, English, and Spanish were included. The analysis involved the selection of articles based on relevance criteria, followed by detailed reading and synthesis of the results. Results: Eight articles were analyzed after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, showing that patient safety strategies in care transitions focus on two main approaches. Structured communication, through specific methodologies, promotes the standardization of information and safe decision-making. Risk management is carried out through checklists and protocols, which assist in discharge planning, medication reconciliation, and the engagement of the patient and their support network. Conclusion: It was found that the use of structured tools strengthens safety, reduces risks and readmissions, in addition to optimizing resources and ensuring continuity of care. However, the lack of studies on the transition between levels of care compromises the applicability of the results and the formulation of more comprehensive public policies.