Shift Handover Summarizer

Generate structured shift handover summaries from EHR updates, highlighting critical events that occurred during the shift.

Clinical Disclaimer: This tool generates summaries for handover support only. All clinical decisions must be verified by qualified medical staff. Patient data must comply with applicable data protection regulations (e.g., HIPAA).

Quick Check

python -m py_compile scripts/main.py
python scripts/main.py --help

When to Use

• Use this skill when generating a structured handover summary from EHR records at the end of a clinical shift.
• Use this skill when prioritizing patients by event severity for incoming staff.
• Do not use this skill as a substitute for direct clinical handover, real-time patient assessment, or emergency triage.

Workflow

1. Confirm the patient records file, shift start/end times, and optional department filter.
2. Validate that the input records are within the declared shift time range.
3. Timezone validation: If --shift-start or --shift-end lacks a timezone offset (e.g., 2026-02-06T00:00:00 without Z or +HH:MM), emit a warning: "Shift times appear to lack a timezone offset. Assuming UTC. Specify timezone explicitly (e.g., 2026-02-06T00:00:00+08:00) to avoid incorrect event filtering."
4. Run the summarizer script or apply the manual extraction path.
5. Return a structured summary with patients ranked by priority, key events, and pending tasks.
6. If inputs are incomplete, state exactly which fields are missing and request only the minimum additional information.

Usage

python scripts/main.py \
  --records data/shift_records.json \
  --shift-start "2026-02-06T00:00:00Z" \
  --shift-end "2026-02-06T08:00:00Z" \
  --department "Cardiology" \
  --output summary.json

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
--records	file path	Yes	JSON file of EHR records for the shift
--shift-start	ISO 8601	Yes	Shift start time
--shift-end	ISO 8601	Yes	Shift end time
--department	string	No	Department filter
--output	file path	No	Output file path (default: stdout)
--no-vitals	flag	No	Exclude vital signs summary

Event Priority Levels

Priority	Event Type
High	Resuscitation, deterioration, serious complications, abnormal vitals
Medium	New symptoms, abnormal findings, medication adjustments, special procedures
Low	Routine treatment, condition improvement, daily care

Output

• Shift summary with total patients and critical patient count
• Per-patient priority ranking, key events, vitals summary, medication summary, and pending tasks
• Plain-text handover narrative

Scope Boundaries

• This skill processes structured EHR records; it does not access live hospital systems.
• Event classification is based on preset thresholds and keywords; adjust thresholds for department-specific needs.
• This skill does not replace direct verbal handover or physician sign-off.

Stress-Case Rules

For complex multi-constraint requests, always include these explicit blocks:

1. Assumptions
2. Shift Period and Inputs Used
3. Summary Output
4. Critical Flags
5. Risks and Manual Checks

Error Handling

• If required inputs are missing, state exactly which fields are missing and request only the minimum additional information.
• If the task goes outside the documented scope, stop instead of guessing or silently widening the assignment.
• If scripts/main.py fails, report the failure point, summarize what still can be completed safely, and provide a manual fallback.
• Do not fabricate patient data, clinical events, or execution outcomes.

Input Validation

This skill accepts: a structured EHR records file with shift start and end times for handover summary generation.

If the request does not involve shift handover summary generation from EHR records — for example, asking for real-time patient monitoring, clinical diagnosis, or direct treatment recommendations — do not proceed with the workflow. Instead respond:

"shift-handover-summarizer is designed to generate structured handover summaries from EHR records. Your request appears to be outside this scope. Please provide a records file and shift times, or use a more appropriate clinical tool."

Response Template

Use the following fixed structure for non-trivial requests:

1. Objective
2. Inputs Received
3. Assumptions
4. Workflow
5. Deliverable
6. Risks and Limits
7. Next Checks

If the request is simple, you may compress the structure, but still keep assumptions and limits explicit when they affect correctness.