The Effect of a Brief Medical Huddle on Patient and Family Experience During Rounds

Initial studies of patient- and family-centered rounds (PFCR) in pediatrics used parental interest in participating as the primary outcome. There are mixed results of family satisfaction with the process when compared with standard rounding. To date, there are limited data examining hybrid models of rounding and communication.

We sought to assess the effect of the addition of a standardized interdisciplinary medical huddle before the formal family-centered rounding encounter on patient and family satisfaction with communication and experience on rounds.

Using a quasi-experimental design, we compared family experience for hospitalized children with rounding before and after the introduction of an interdisciplinary medical huddle preceding the PFCR encounter. Family experience was assessed using a 5-question Likert scale survey. The primary outcome measure was self-reported family experience compared between the pre-intervention period (February-June 2017) and postintervention periods (March-July 2021).

Mean scores for family experience in the postintervention period were significantly better in "the doctors used language I could understand" (3.51 in 2017 compared with 3.71 in 2021; P = .005) and "the doctors addressed my concerns and questions" (3.58 in 2017 compared with 3.79 in 2021; P = .009). Overall, the top box response in aggregate was 56% in the pre-intervention period compared with 76% in the postintervention period (P < .001). Rounding time was significantly longer in the postintervention period (17.6 minutes compared with 13.9 minutes; P < .001).

Using a prerounds medical huddle in real time was associated with improved family experience on rounds in the general inpatient setting. The development of a shared understanding for all team members, as well as communication planning, likely contributed to these results.