handerover

Handerover is the process of transferring responsibility, authority, or information from one person or organization to another. The more common spelling is handover or hand-off; handerover is a variant that may appear in concatenated forms in some texts. The aim of a handerover is to ensure continuity, accountability, and clarity about what has been completed, what remains, and who is the point of contact.

In business and project management, a handover occurs at phase completions, shift changes, or project transitions. It involves transferring tasks, assets, access rights, documentation, and knowledge to the receiving party. Typical artifacts include status reports, issue logs, runbooks, contact lists, and signed-off deliverables. A well-executed handover reduces risk, prevents duplicated effort, and minimizes delays.

In healthcare, patient handover between clinicians during shift changes is essential for patient safety. Standardized methods such as SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) facilitate concise communication of patient status, ongoing treatments, allergies, and pending tests. Effective handovers are timely, comprehensive, and require verification of understanding by the receiving clinician.

In information technology and telecommunications, handover can also refer to transferring a live session or service between systems to maintain continuity. In mobile networks, handover (or handoff) switches a call or data session from one cell or base station to another. In IT operations, handovers of incident or runbook information support ongoing service continuity after staff changes.

Risks of poor handover include miscommunication, incomplete data, and incompatible systems. Best practices emphasize standardized checklists, written documentation, time for review, and formal sign-off to ensure clear accountability and traceability.