Key result
Implementation of TeamSTEPPS in the operating room sustained or improved qualitative performance metrics and decreased wrong site/side/person surgeries and retained foreign bodies.
Why the study?
Does the implementation of the TeamSTEPPS program merged with a surgical safety checklist improve team communication and reduce surgical errors in the operating room?
Observational (n=1,610)
No
Does the implementation of the TeamSTEPPS program merged with a surgical safety checklist improve team communication and reduce surgical errors in the operating room?
Implementation of the TeamSTEPPS program combined with a surgical safety checklist improves perioperative team communication and reduces critical surgical errors.
Hypothesis-generating for TeamSTEPPS in operating room safety; prospective trials needed before changing practice.
Preventable medical errors in the operating room are most often caused by ineffective communication and suboptimal team dynamics. TeamSTEPPS is a government-funded, evidence-based program that provides tools and education to improve teamwork in medicine. The study hospital implemented TeamSTEPPS in the operating room and merged the program with a surgical safety checklist. Audits were performed to collect both quantitative and qualitative information on time out (brief) and debrief conversations, using a standardized audit tool. A total of 1610 audits over 6 months were performed by live auditors. Performance was sustained at desired levels or improved for all qualitative metrics using χ 2 and linear regression analyses. Additionally, the absolute number of wrong site/side/person surgery and unintentionally retained foreign body counts decreased after TeamSTEPPS implementation.
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Rhee et al. (2016) conducted an observational in Surgery (n=1,610). TeamSTEPPS program merged with a surgical safety checklist vs. Pre-implementation was evaluated on Qualitative metrics for time out and debrief conversations, wrong site/side/person surgery, and unintentionally retained foreign bodies. Implementation of TeamSTEPPS in the operating room sustained or improved qualitative performance metrics and decreased wrong site/side/person surgeries and retained foreign bodies.
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