patient safety & quality
By J . Hudson Garrett Jr ., PhD , MSN , MPH , MBA , FNP-BC , IP-BC , PLNC , CFER , AS-BC , VA- BC , BC-MSLcert™ , NCEE , NREMT , MSL-BC , DICO-C , TR-C , CPPS , CPHQ , CPXP , FACDONA , FAAPM , FNAP , FSHEA , FIDSA
Breaking Down Barriers in Healthcare Communication : Applying the TeamSTEPPS Methodology for Quality Improvement
The TeamSTEPPS program focuses on strengthening the specific knowledge , skills , and attitudes of teamwork and can be tailored to meet the needs of any team in any setting both inpatient and outpatient .
Multiple data points suggest that breakdowns in communication are major source for healthcare errors that may cause patient harm . TeamSTEPPS , Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety , is a collaborative education initiative between the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ( AHRQ ) and the Department of Defense . The TeamSTEPPS program focuses on strengthening the specific knowledge , skills , and attitudes of teamwork and can be tailored to meet the needs of any team in any setting both inpatient and outpatient .
The program is based on more than 40 years of research and evidence from high-risk fields and provides specific tools and strategies for :
● Improving communication in teamwork
● Reducing the chance of error
● Enhancing patient safety
● Outcomes of a high-performing team are adaptability , accuracy , productivity , efficiency , and safety
TeamSTEPPS can be used with any member of the healthcare team and is not limited strictly to clinical practitioners . For healthcare communication to be as effective as possible , it must be complete , clear , brief , and timely . The communication is complete when it includes and communicates all relevant information regarding the situation . It is clear when the information is plainly understood and not riddled with complex medical jargon . Healthcare communications need to be brief , concise and focused on the topic at hand . Finally , for these communications to be actionable , they must be timely so that there is still an opportunity to positively influence any potential clinical outcome .
TeamSTEPPS can create several benefits for any healthcare facility and include :
● Significant improvement in communication and supportive behavior
● Significant increase in perceptions of teamwork after training
● Reductions in turnover rate
● Increases in employee satisfaction
Healthcare leaders play a pivotal role in forming highly performing teams and should consider 1 ) who their team members are and their skill-sets , 2 ) when they need to interact and with whom , 3 ) how do they currently exchange critical patient information , and 4 ) what , if anything , would you want to change about your current team structure and performance ? Proper leadership and autonomy can create highly resilient teams throughout the entire continuum of care . The TeamSTEPPS model is built on three core tenets : 1 )
Performance , 2 ) Attitudes , and 3 ) Knowledge . Most would argue that attitudes are the most critical component as knowledge can typically be taught and performance can be managed by proper leadership . At the core of the TeamSTEPPS model is a focus on the patient themselves . Engaged frontline leadership is necessary to implement this type of change management program and sustain the positive momentum created . Since most errors in healthcare involve human beings and breakdowns in
Courtesy of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ( AHRQ )