Tool improves team communication, coordination

A tool used among teams of caregivers in perioperative and inpatient units improved cross-unit teamwork and coordination, according to a pilot study published in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Journal of Patient Safety. Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore used the Multi-Team Shared Expectations Tool ─ an exercise to engage health care teams in eliciting needs and establishing agreed-upon expectations for team members ─ to identify common coordination problems of care delays, unwanted variations in care and non-standardized communication among units. However, care delays and inconsistent communication persisted. The authors say systematic approaches are needed to understand and ease cross-unit communication and coordination in care delivery in transitions. (AHRQ Journal of Patient Safety article, 8/21/24)