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Call to Action: Quality and Simulation Professionals Should Collaborate
Amy Lu1, May C M Pian-Smith, Amanda Burden
1From the UCSF Health and Anesthesia and Perioperative Care (A.L.), UCSF School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA; Enterprise Anesthesiology Quality and Safety, Mass General Brigham (M.C.M.P.-S.), Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; Clinical Skills and Simulation Education (A.B.), Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and Cooper University Healthcare, Camden, NJ; Surgery UMMS-Chan-Baystate (G.L.F.), Baystate Health, Springfield, MA; Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine (S.A.F.), University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM; Surgery, Undergraduate Medical Education (R.V.R.), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; Department of Surgery (D.P.S.), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL; Surgery, Surgical Innovation (J.M.V.), Rush University, Chicago, IL; Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine (J.B.C.), Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA; and Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care (R.H.S.), Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX.
Simulation is an underused tool for enhancing healthcare quality and patient safety. Increased collaboration between quality/safety and simulation professionals can leverage simulation to address critical healthcare challenges.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Quality Improvement
- Patient Safety
- Medical Simulation
Background:
- Healthcare quality and safety are paramount concerns for organizations.
- Simulation has demonstrated effectiveness in addressing quality and safety issues.
- Current utilization of simulation in healthcare quality improvement is suboptimal.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the underutilization of simulation in healthcare.
- To advocate for increased collaboration between quality/safety and simulation professionals.
- To encourage the strategic application of simulation for improving patient care.
Main Methods:
- The study reviews existing evidence on simulation's effectiveness in healthcare.
- It identifies areas where simulation can address quality and safety problems.
- The approach emphasizes collaborative strategies for implementation.
Main Results:
- Simulation effectively identifies and resolves quality and safety issues.
- It demonstrably improves teamwork and patient safety indicators.
- Numerous examples showcase simulation's positive impact on healthcare metrics.
Conclusions:
- Simulation is a powerful, yet underutilized, resource for enhancing healthcare quality and safety.
- Collaboration is key to integrating simulation into quality improvement initiatives.
- Initiating dialogue and identifying specific applications can drive simulation adoption for better patient outcomes.
