Top Things to Know: Patient Safety in the Cardiac Operating Room: Human Factors and Teamwork

Published: August 05, 2013

Of the roughly 350,000 to 500,000 patients who undergo cardiac surgery each year, about 8% will have an adverse event.
Preventable errors are most often due to mistakes in nontechnical skills such as communication, cooperation, coordination, teamwork and leadership.
Communication skills are a key aspect in successful teamwork in the OR.
Elements of successful teamwork are described by the 6 “C’s”: communication, cooperation, coordination, cognition, conflict resolution, and coaching.
Teamwork-training efforts, requiring repetition and ongoing coaching, can aid in reducing errors in the OR.
Check-lists, preoperative briefings and postoperative debriefings can also aid in reducing errors and improving outcomes.
Standard briefings can help minimize distractions and flow disruptions, optimize team performance, and may reduce patient complications.
Scenario training can successfully assess and train surgical staff in nontechnical skills and integration of those skills with already known technical skills.
Interventions designed to improve quality of care when cardiac patients transfer between surgical teams can improve information being omitted or misinterpreted.
Creating a culture and physical environment of safety will ultimately lead to greater patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes.

View the summary for Patient Safety in the Cardiac Operating Room: Human Factors and Teamwork

Citation

Wahr JA, Prager RL, Abernathy JH 3rd, Martinez EA, Salas E, Seifert PC, Groom RC, Spiess BD, Searles BE, Sundt TM 3rd, Sanchez JA, Shappell SA, Culig MH, Lazzara EH, Fitzgerald DC, Thourani VH, Eghtesady P, Ikonomidis JS, England MR, Sellke FW, Nussmeier NA; on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research. Patient safety in the cardiac operating room: human factors and teamwork: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2013: published online before print August 5, 2013, 10.1161/CIR.0b013e3182a38efa.
http://circ.ahajournals.org/lookup/doi/10.1161/CIR.0b013e3182a38efa