In an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), we attend people with a wide range of pathologies. All the information obtained from monitoring our critical patients, diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, responses to treatments, action plans, etc. is the greatest asset that a professional has available to carry out and optimise his work and that of his colleagues and patient’s prognosis in a high-risk environment.

The transmission of information (TOI) among the ICU team members is a “soft skill” that is applied by different types of professionals and is fundamental for the continuous 24/7 care of critical patients.

It is called handoff or handover communication, but we prefer to employ the term TOI because an integrative communication is not only important for the efficiency of the attending healthcare team, but also for health communication with the critical patient and their family.

It has also been shown to increase the objective quality (prognosis at discharge) and perceived quality by the patient.

Adequate TOI, like any other tool or technique, requires training to be performed in a professional manner and is essential for the safe care of the critical patient.

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