Objectives: A good nursing shift handover is important in providing continuity of patient care. The traditional "paper mode of nursing handover" lacked standards and structure, and was unable to provide updated information which may subsequently have caused negligence or omissions in nursing care. In order to improve patient care and the quality of the nursing shift handover, we developed an application of the ISBAR (Introduction, Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendations) concept. Methods: Through a nurse-handover integrity survey, we found that the handover integrity rate was 66.5% and the satisfaction rate was 22%; this may have had a great impact on the quality of care and patient safety. To improve the integrity, accuracy and timeliness of nursing shift handover, structured nursing shift practice regulations using the ISBAR concept were implemented from February through June 2013. The results were confirmed by audits, interviews and satisfaction surveys. Results: After using the ISBAR shift transfer concept combined with the use of information technology, the nurse-handover integrity rate improved from 66.5% to 85 % and the shift satisfaction rate increased from 22% to 94.2%. Conclusions: The development of a structured shift handover not only improved nursing care satisfaction thereby enhancing communication among health care personnel but also promoted patient safety and quality of care.