Surgical Complications Decrease With Focus on Teamwork

Hospitals that introduced a program to improve communicate and teamwork among physicians and nurses saw fewer surgery-related complications, according to a study from the Veterans Health Administration's National Center for Patient Safety in Ann Arbor, Mich., according to a FOX News report.


The findings come a year after researchers reported a decline in patient death rates with the same program. The reports together suggest that team-focused care can improve outcomes and lower the rate of complications.

The system is designed to catch medical errors before they occur by using a checklist that helps providers discuss the patient and the procedure before surgery. The team then debriefs afterward, and patients may be involved in both conversations.

The researchers compared infections, blood clots and other complications in patients treated at 42 Veterans Health Administration facilities that had implemented the "medical team training program" and another 32 that had not.

The researchers used data from almost 12,000 surgeries performed between 2006 and 2008 and found that 37 of the 42 hospitals with the program improved their complication rates, compared to 22 of the 32 hospitals without the program.

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