MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center has redefined the standard of efficiency when it comes to patient handoffs. What was once a time-consuming exchange of calls and messages has become a more seamless process with the use of I-PASS.
Two years ago, Lancaster Medical Center’s Hospitalist and Emergency Medicine teams implemented I-PASS to improve transition of care with patients. I-PASS stands for:
· Illness severity
· Patient summary
· Action list
· Situation awareness/planning
· Synthesis by receiver
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, I-PASS is a structured electronic communication tool that helps care team members share important patient information clearly and consistently during handoffs, reducing mistakes and improving patient safety. The Lancaster Medical Center care team also uses Epic Secure Chat to communicate efficiently and ensure timely coordination of patient care.
Lead by Jamie Falkowitz, D.O., Anshika Singh, M.D., Greg Rimmer, D.O., Keia Hewitt, M.D., Avinash Juneja, M.D., and Tracy Topacio, D.O., I-PASS has changed the handoff process at Lancaster Medical Center by creating a structured approach that improves communication and safety.
“We wanted to create a more efficient, asynchronous process instead of the old approach where admitting a patient from the emergency department often meant hours of phone tag,” said Falkowitz. “Now, we can send a message when ready, connect with our hospitalists when they’re available and move the admission process forward without unnecessary delays.”
Originally developed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, I-PASS has rarely been studied in small, rural hospitals. Lancaster Medical Center is the first hospital in the MUSC Health System to implement this process locally.
Over the last two years, the team has conducted studies on I-PASS, and the results have been remarkable. Physicians reported that I-PASS has streamlined workflow, boosted efficiency and enhanced patient safety by improving transitions between the ED and hospital medicine teams.
“We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback. There was some initial hesitation, but there's always some resistance when you're trying to implement a change,” said Singh. “What stood out to me the most is when older providers who had the most hesitation about I-PASS and shifting from phone calls, later ended up reaching back out to me after taking our survey and strongly agreed we should be using this new procedure.”
The team is working with the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) on a quality improvement project and will present their findings at VCOM’s Research Day in February 2026. The Lancaster team is comparing the time it takes for a patient to be admitted – from arrival to room assignment – before and after implementing I-PASS. Once they solidify their findings, the next step is to expand I-PASS to other departments, beginning with Lancaster Medical Center’s next cohort of Internal Medicine residents.
“The next class of residents will include night floats and night shift rotations, which we do not currently have. We would roll out I-PASS between the residents, which is something I’ve been personally involved with from a hospital medicine standpoint. We are also incorporating it into the new hire orientation,” said Singh.
For Falkowitz and Singh, having the opportunity to implement I-PASS in a smaller hospital has been fulfilling and impactful for their teams and the division.
“It feels like our baby, and our baby is finally growing up,” said Falkowitz.
