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Published on: February 17, 2011
Improving situation awareness and patient outcomes through interdisciplinary rounding and structured communication
Paul Cornell1, Mary Townsend-Gervis, James M Vardaman
1Author Affiliations: President (Dr Cornell), Healthcare Practice Transformation, Dallas, Texas; Chief Nursing Officer (Ms Townsend-Gervis) and Advanced Nurse Clinician (Ms Yates), Baptist Memorial Healthcare, DeSoto, Mississippi; Assistant Professor (Dr Vardaman), Mississippi State University.
Interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs) and SBAR communication improved staff situation awareness and patient benefits. While IDRs shortened review times, SBAR enhanced consistency and familiarity, leading to positive outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare communication
- Patient safety protocols
- Clinical workflow optimization
Background:
- Effective communication is crucial for interdisciplinary healthcare teams.
- Standardized communication tools like SBAR can enhance clarity and efficiency.
- Interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs) offer a structured forum for team collaboration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs) combined with the Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) communication protocol.
- To assess the effects on healthcare staff's situation awareness.
- To determine the influence on patient outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental study was conducted across three medical-surgical units.
- Four conditions were compared: baseline, IDR only, paper-SBAR, and electronic-SBAR (IDR + SBAR).
- Data on patient review times, tools used, and location were collected for 960 reviews over nine months.
Main Results:
- Interdisciplinary rounds significantly reduced patient review times from 102 to 69 seconds.
- The SBAR protocol did not further decrease review times but enhanced consistency.
- Patient satisfaction showed a slight improvement, while length of stay remained unchanged.
Conclusions:
- The implementation of IDRs and SBAR fostered improved staff situation awareness.
- The structured approach of IDRs and SBAR provided benefits for clinical processes, staff, and patients.
- Standardized communication and collaborative rounds are valuable for enhancing healthcare delivery.
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