Communication Training Improves Surgical Safety

Surgical team members who undergo structured communication training and use safety checklists are less likely to commit errors in the OR, according to a study in the December 2012 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

In a review of more than more than 300 procedures performed at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Conn., lead author Lindsay Bliss, MD, general surgery resident at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, discovered 30-day complication rates dropped from 16% to 8% when surgical team members underwent communication training and used safety checklists.

That checklists help avoid adverse events isn't new, but this is the first study to discover checklists used in conjunction with communication training curbed such complications as SSIs, blood clots and UTIs, says Dr. Bliss.

To read more of this article Click Here.