Patient Safety Blog

SBARR: Structured Communication for Safer Care

Written by Jens Hooiveld | July 31 2025

In complex healthcare settings—whether in acute care, long-term care, or emergency services—effective communication is critical for ensuring patient safety. The SBAR method (or SBARR, which emphasizes repeat-back for verification) gives healthcare professionals a structured approach to convey clinical information clearly, concisely, and completely—especially in time-sensitive situations.

Across European and North American healthcare systems, SBARR is increasingly embedded in daily practice and clinical reasoning, particularly in handovers, team communication, and high-risk scenarios. 

The Patient Safety Company (TPSC) supports this process by embedding SBARR into its digital platform, enabling traceability, standardization, and real-time follow-up.

Where does SBAR come from?

The SBAR methodology was originally developed by the U.S. military and later adapted in hospitals in the 1990s to structure communication around critical patient situations. Since then, the model has been widely adopted in clinical practice across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, and the EU.

Globally respected organizations such as AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) promote SBAR as a best-practice tool for improving patient safety culture and reducing clinical risk.

What does SBAR(R) stand for?

De afkorting SBAR staat voor:

  • S – Situation: What is the patient’s current status?
  • B – Background: What is the relevant clinical or medical history?
  • A – Assessment: What is your clinical evaluation or interpretation?
  • R – Recommendation: What action are you recommending or requesting?
  • R – Repeat (in SBARR): The receiver repeats back the key message to confirm mutual understanding.

The repeat step is especially important in high-reliability organizations and is commonly encouraged in both EU and Canadian safety protocols.

SBARR in Practice

Integrating SBARR into a digital workflow magnifies its effectiveness. The TPSC platform provides digital tools that support:

  • Structured data collection for patient status and background
  • Smart forms and mandatory fields that improve completeness
  • Automated alerts and notifications for clinical follow-up

Audit trails to ensure traceability and compliance with regulatory standards (e.g. GDPR, PHIPA)

SBARR-step

Example statement

 TPSC Functionality

S –

Situation

"Patient's O2 saturation has dropped to 86%."

You can immediately register patient data and a short situation summary using a standardised incident form. This allows the start of every SBAR to be monitored.

B – Background

"History of COPD and pneumonia; received 5 mg morphine."

Add medication details, allergies, vital signs, medical history, and lab results in structured fields. The platform ensures completeness.

A – Assessment

"Likely therapy resistance to current treatment."

Document your clinical assessment as an automated progress note. Flag it as high risk if needed.

R – Recommendation

“Please have the physician see the patient and repeat blood gas analysis.”

Trigger a workflow task: the physician receives an email or push notification, including the urgency level.

R –

Repeat

“You confirm that you’ll administer morphine, nebulise, and arrive within 5 minutes?”

The receiver confirms via the tool, creating a closed-loop communication cycle.

Would you like to learn more? Request a free demo. Our experts are more than happy to present the possibilties.

Why SBARR works

A 2024 peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing demonstrated that SBAR-based handover tools significantly improved communication quality, reduced medication errors, and eliminated preventable adverse events. When healthcare professionals are trained in SBARR, a shared communication standard emerges—one that enables safer, faster, and more coordinated care.

SBARR also aligns well with global healthcare goals like the WHO’s Patient Safety Action Plan, which prioritizes communication as a core competency for reducing harm.

Integrate SBAR with The Patient Safety Company’s platform

At The Patient Safety Company, we empower healthcare organizations across the globe to improve communication, handover safety, and incident management. By supporting proven models like SBARR with digital tools, workflow automation, and implementation support, we help foster a stronger safety culture in line with EU and North American standards.