I-PASS is an acronym representing a structured format for clinical handoff communication. Each letter corresponds to a specific element of the patient information that must be conveyed during a handoff:

I – Illness severity

P – Patient summary

A – Action list

S – Situation awareness and contingency planning

S – Synthesis by receiver

Originally developed by a team of pediatricians and researchers under a multicenter initiative supported by the Society of Hospital Medicine and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), I-PASS is now a widely endorsed and evidence-backed tool for improving handoff quality in hospitals worldwide. ipass