Processes and tools to improve teamwork and communication in surgical settings: a narrative review

[摘要] Patient safety has become a global priorityto support reducing harm associated withhealthcare delivery.1 In Canada, patient safetyincidents (PSI) are the third leading cause ofdeath behind heart disease and stroke andare associated with an additional cost to thehealthcare system of $2.75 billion each year.2PSIs occur across the healthcare continuum,but over half are associated with surgical care,which consists of preoperative, intraoperativeand postoperative care.3 4 Globally, four mainthreats to surgical safety have been identified: (1) insufficient recognition of safetyas a public health concern, (2) lack of available data related to surgical outcomes, (3)the inconsistent implementation of existingsafety practices, and (4) the complexity ofthe surgical setting.5 The WHO Guidelinesfor Safe Surgery, published in 2009, haveincreased and highlighted the importance ofsurgical safety worldwide. However, key gapsrelated to complexity of surgical processesstill remain to be addressed. A leading causeof these events is communication failurebetween care providers during surgical care,and between transition points during ‘handoffs’ or ‘handovers’.

[学科分类] 药学

[关键词] teamwork;communication;implementation science;patient safety;surgery