I-PASS
Medical abbreviation · Medical Documentation
| Stands for | Illness severity, Patient summary, Action list, Situation awareness and contingency planning, Synthesis by receiver |
|---|---|
| Categories | Medical |
I-PASS stands for Illness severity, Patient summary, Action list, Situation awareness and contingency planning, Synthesis by receiver, a medical documentation abbreviation.
Structured patient handoff tool used between physician teams and nurses at shift change. It ends with the receiver summarizing back to confirm understanding.
Example: I-PASS handoff: illness severity watcher; if febrile overnight, send cultures and call fellow.
Usage notes
A 2014 New England Journal of Medicine study across nine children's hospitals found a 23 percent drop in medical errors and a 30 percent drop in preventable adverse events after I-PASS training. Patients are flagged as stable, watcher or unstable. The approach has spread to adult and nursing handoffs.
Related abbreviations
More medical documentation abbreviations
- H&P – History and physical
- HD – Hospital day
- HIM – Health information management
- HOPI – History of presenting illness
- HPI – History of present illness
- Hx – History
- ICE – Ideas, concerns, expectations
- Imp – Impression
- ISBAR – Identify, Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation
- IVDA – Intravenous drug abuse
- IVDU – Intravenous drug use
- Ix – Investigations
See all 79 medical documentation abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.