Use of an electronic documentation module to improve surgical debriefing effectiveness

Effective communication in the operating room is crucial for patient safety and optimal outcomes. Structured debriefing communication tools can improve team coordination and address recurring safety concerns. During the unique circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study evaluated an approach to documentation and loop closure that functioned under constrained hospital resources, a loss of capacity for face-to-face provider training and loop closure, and periods of performing only urgent and emergent surgery for which some debriefing elements, like patient disposition and equipment needs, are more dynamic.

Employing a longitudinal repeated-measures design, this quality improvement study used a newly integrated module within the electronic health record system to document debriefings, which were linked to surveys assessing perceptions of the debriefing process. Data were collected from 56 operating rooms in 3 separate hospital towers during a 3-year period ending December 2023, encompassing 4 reiterative Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles.

The study recorded 49,426 surgical debriefings. The overall incidence of debriefing increased 111% during the study period, reaching 88% during the third and final year of the project. Compared with 193 preintervention surveys, 129 postintervention surveys demonstrated increased incidence of perceiving debriefings as very or extremely effective (52% vs 38%, P = .02), greater frequency of discussing whether equipment issues occurred (87% vs 75%, P = .008), and greater frequency of loop closure (46% vs 34%, P = .03) and leadership (Chair or Program Director of Quality) involvement in loop closure activities (14% vs 3%, P = .008) addressing issues identified during debriefs.

Despite challenges associated with implementation during a viral pandemic, the intervention was associated with increased incidence and perceived effectiveness of documented surgical debriefings, greater frequency of downstream loop closure, and positive impacts on team communication.