Patient safety after implementation of a coproduced family centered communication programme: multicenter before and...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric healthcare quality improvement
• Patient safety research
• Communication in healthcare

Background:

• Standardizing communication during pediatric inpatient rounds is crucial for patient safety and family experience.
• Previous approaches lacked structured, reliable communication protocols between healthcare providers and families.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a standardized communication intervention on medical errors, family experience, and communication processes during family-centered rounds.
• To assess changes in harmful errors, non-harmful errors, and family-reported outcomes post-intervention.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, multicenter before-and-after study was conducted in pediatric inpatient units across seven North American hospitals.
• The intervention involved coproduced, structured communication protocols, real-time summaries, provider training, and teamwork strategies.
• Medical errors were measured using systematic surveillance, including family safety reporting; family experience and communication processes were also assessed.

Main Results:

• Harmful medical errors (preventable adverse events) decreased by 37.9% (P=0.01), and non-preventable adverse events decreased by 58.0% (P=0.003).
• Overall medical error rates remained unchanged (P=0.21).
• Family-reported experience improved in several areas, and family engagement (P=0.04) and nurse engagement (P=0.03) on rounds increased.

Conclusions:

• A structured communication intervention for family-centered rounds, coproduced by families, nurses, and physicians, significantly reduced harmful medical errors.
• The intervention improved family experience and communication processes without negatively impacting trainee teaching or round duration.
• Family-centered care processes show promise for enhancing patient safety and quality in pediatric settings.