# Why do patient handovers between doctors go wrong?

> When doctors are short on time, handovers happen in the corridor, out loud. Details get lost. Here is why and how to keep them.

Source: https://kyrra.in/blog/patient-handovers/ · By Kyrra · Published 2026-11-03 · Updated 2026-11-03

Patient handovers go wrong because they are usually spoken, quick and unrecorded. A doctor passes a patient on in the corridor between rounds, and the next doctor gets only what they remember. Medicines, tests and follow-up dates slip. Turning that spoken handover into a short written note, without the doctor typing, fixes most of it.

## Why are handovers spoken in the first place?

Doctors in busy hospitals have very little time. Writing a full note after every patient often doesn’t happen. So they talk: to the next doctor, to the nurse, to the family.

## What gets lost?

- which tests were ordered, and which are back
- a change in medicine or dose
- when the patient should come back
- what the family was told

## How do you keep handovers without slowing doctors down?

Let them keep talking. A short voice note after a patient, in whatever language they think in, can become a consult note, a list of tests and a follow-up date. The doctor checks it with one tap. The next doctor, the lab and reception all see the same thing.

This is one of the things [Kyrra](/) does today for clinics. Also read [what a lost patient file costs](/blog/lost-patient-file/).