Identifying practices of information transfer between the hospital and primary care for older adults: a scoping review protocol.

introductionTransition of care from hospital to primary care has been recognised globally as a high-risk scenario for older patients' safety by the WHO. Indeed, sub-optimal care transitions are associated with increased mortality, morbidity and adverse events.Improving communication through timely and accurate clinical information transfer has been identified as a key component of optimal care transitions. However, timely and accurate clinical information transfer from hospital to primary care varies across countries and institutions. Information transfer practices are heterogeneous, in some places depending on individual initiative and sometimes not occurring at all.To improve current practices, we will conduct a scoping review to identify the current and suggested practices of information transfer between hospital-based physicians or pharmacists and the primary care team of older patients. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This scoping review will be conducted using Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework, augmented by Levac ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval was obtained. We plan to disseminate the results as scientific communication (peer-reviewed journal and presentations) and during a deliberative dialogue workshop with key stakeholders in order to generate recommendations to improve current practices in our own clinical setting, potentially to be adapted and scaled up with our collaborators provincially, nationally and internationally.This protocol has been registered on the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/eg958.