Clinical handover is an integral part of the daily clinical work that takes place between paramedics and Emergency Department (ED) staff for every patient arriving at the hospital by ambulance or helicopter. This area of transition of care however has been sparsely researched (Wood et al., 2014). An ineffective handover represents a breakdown in communication of health information which in turn may have deleterious effects on patient care and safety, including; misdiagnosis or unnecessary delays in diagnosis (Kachalia et al., 2007); delays in administration of treatment; administration of incorrect treatment or medication errors; and omission of care (Joint Commission Centre for Transforming Healthcare, 2014). This literature review deals with the clinical handover between paramedics and Emergency Department (ED) staff (Physicians and nurses), specifically focusing on two frequently used patient handover acronyms and their effectiveness and limitations in facilitating a complete, concise, and structured clinical handover. The SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendations) and IMIST-AMBO (Identify, Mechanism/Medical Complaint, Injuries/Information related to complaint, Signs and Symptoms, Treatment and Trends-Allergies, Medications, Background, Other information) acronyms will be explored. Given the unique requirements of each discipline, this review does not take into account the clinical handover among ED staff between shift changes or the clinical handover between ED and other hospital departments (Intensive Care Unit, Medical, and Surgical floors). Definition: Handover is also referred to as 'handoff', but for the purpose of consistency, the word 'handover' will be used throughout this article. Clinical Handover is "a real-time process of passing patient specific information from one caregiver to another or from one team of caregivers to another for the purpose of ensuring the continuity and safety of the patient's care" (Joint Commission Centre for Transforming Healthcare ,2014, p 2). The primary objective of a clinical handover is the transfer and acceptance of professional responsibility and accountability of patient care among healthcare professionals (Joint Commission Centre for Transforming Healthcare, 2014). During this process, the information about a patient's care, treatment, current condition, and any recent or anticipated changes must be clear, complete, and accurate in order to minimize preventable deleterious events and to ensure safe and optimal continuity of care.