DURHAM, N.H., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Efforts to increase physician-nurse communication and build teamwork help reduce surgery-related complications such as blood clots, U.S. researchers say.
Implementation of the Medical Team Training Program and Surgical Morbidity involved the surgical team taking a cue from aviation and having the surgical team use a checklist before surgery, as well as debriefings afterward, as pilots and co-pilots do.
The study, published in the journal Archives of Surgery, said the communication-boosting program resulted in 15 percent fewer complications such as blood clots and infections.
Yinong Young-Xu of EpiPatterns, a New Hampshire data analysis firm, and colleagues at the National Center for Patient Safety, Department of Veterans Affairs, White River Junction, Dartmouth Medical School, Baylor College of Medicine, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and the University of Michigan used data from the Veterans Health Administration Surgical Quality Improvement Program.
The analysis involved 119,383 sampled procedures from 74 Veterans Health Administration facilities that provide care to veterans.
Implementation of the Medical Team Training Program and Surgical Morbidity involved the surgical team taking a cue from aviation and having the surgical team use a checklist before surgery, as well as debriefings afterward, as pilots and co-pilots do.
The study, published in the journal Archives of Surgery, said the communication-boosting program resulted in 15 percent fewer complications such as blood clots and infections.
Yinong Young-Xu of EpiPatterns, a New Hampshire data analysis firm, and colleagues at the National Center for Patient Safety, Department of Veterans Affairs, White River Junction, Dartmouth Medical School, Baylor College of Medicine, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and the University of Michigan used data from the Veterans Health Administration Surgical Quality Improvement Program.
The analysis involved 119,383 sampled procedures from 74 Veterans Health Administration facilities that provide care to veterans.
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Read more: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2011/12/22/Better-communication-helps-health-outcomes/UPI-36841324534023/#ixzz1hHu0j7W8
