Effects of a team-based assessment and intervention on patient safety culture in general practice: an open randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The measurement of safety culture in healthcare is generally regarded as a first step towards improvement. Based on a self-assessment of safety culture, the Frankfurt Patient Safety Matrix (FraTrix) aims to enable healthcare teams to improve safety culture in their organisations. In this study we assessed the effects of FraTrix on safety culture in general practice. METHODS: We conducted an open randomised controlled trial in 60 general practices. FraTrix was applied over a period of 9 months during three facilitated team sessions in intervention practices. At baseline and after 12 months, scores were allocated for safety culture as expressed in practice structure and processes (indicators), in safety climate and in patient safety incident reporting. The primary outcome was the indicator error management. RESULTS: During the team sessions, practice teams reflected on their safety culture and decided on about 10 actions per practice to improve it. After 12 months, no significant differences were found between intervention and control groups in terms of error management (competing probability=0.48, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.63, p=0.823), 11 further patient safety culture indicators and safety climate scales. Intervention practices showed better reporting of patient safety incidents, reflected in a higher number of incident reports (mean (SD) 4.85 (4.94) vs 3.10 (5.42), p=0.045) and incident reports of higher quality (scoring 2.27 (1.93) vs 1.49 (1.67), p=0.038) than control practices. CONCLUSIONS: Applied as a team-based instrument to assess safety culture, FraTrix did not lead to measurable improvements in error management. Comparable studies with more positive results had less robust study designs. In future research, validated combined methods to measure safety culture will be required. In addition, more attention should be paid to evaluation of process parameters. Implemented actions and incident reporting may be more appropriate target endpoints. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien, DRKS) No. DRKS00000145.

[Teamwork and leadership in the trauma room. Trauma room management from a psychological perspective]. / Teamwork und Führung im Schockraum. Schockraummanagement aus psychologischer Sicht.

The treatment of patients in the trauma room places extraordinary demands on the multidisciplinary and multiprofessional team with regard to expert qualifications and teamwork. The present study triangulates data extracted from observation, interviews and questionnaires. In general, team climate and teamwork are good, yet some problems could be identified. Not all team members-especially younger physicians and nurses-feel free to express their doubts and uncertainties. Furthermore, the treatment plan is not always clear for all team members. Absent or unclear leadership is seen as a main problem when a treatment proceeds negatively. The establishment of a team leader is therefore recommended.

[Learning from mistakes in hospitals. A system perspective on errors and incident reporting systems]. / Lernen aus Fehlern im Krankenhaus. Systemische Fehlersicht und Zwischenfall-Berichtssysteme.

Analysis of incidents and near-incidents is an important factor for continuous improvement in patient safety in hospitals and for the promotion of organizational learning. From a system perspective, accidents occur when decision-making at several levels of a working system is faulty and the safety barriers fail. Human error is inevitable but accidents are not. Errors can be used as an opportunity for organizational learning and this is especially true for incidents when patients come to no harm. Starting with explanations of a system perspective on errors, this paper deals with the prerequisites for organizational learning and general rules for establishing incident reporting systems in hospitals.

[Risk management in the operation room. Results of a pilot project of interdisciplinary "incident reporting"]. / Risikomanagement im Operationsbereich. Ergebnisse eines pilotprojektes zum interdisziplinären "incident-reporting".

BACKGROUND: Methods for error analysis are suitable to increase patients' safety as well as staff satisfaction and may avoid, in a sense of process control, financial damage to the hospital. The aim of the presented pilot study was to establish and evaluate an incident reporting system as a first step towards a new safety culture. METHODS: In June 2003 an incident reporting system was introduced in the central surgical suite, in which the surgical and anaesthesiologic departments took part as well medical and nursing staff. Besides conceiving a report form, a "board of confidence" was elected, kick-off meetings were held and a baseline study on the basis of industrial psychological knowledge was initialised. RESULTS: The process of creating confidence is arduous and depends elementarily on sincere cooperation of management staff, especially of the heads of the departments. The exclusive participation of only two medical departments led to conflicts. Therefore, after finishing the pilot study, the system was expanded to the whole surgical suite including all operating departments. In order to increase the motivation for the strictly voluntarily participation, the frequency of regular echoes to the staff was optimised. To achieve high acceptance in the whole staff, the board of confidence needs a clearly defined position within the system of quality management. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time in Germany an incident reporting system under participation of several medical departments has been installed. After finishing the pilot project, in future we will be able to evaluate changes caused by this system. Simultaneously an electronic database for reported adverse events and strategies to avoid them are being developed based on similar systems in aviation industry. In near future, the system will be of increasing importance likewise for inpatient units and non-operative departments.

[Simulator-based modular human factor training in anesthesiology. Concept and results of the module "Communication and Team Cooperation"]. / Simulatorgestütztes, modulares Human Factors Training in der Anästhesie. Konzept und Ergebnisse des Trainingsmoduls "Kommunikation und Kooperation im Team".

BACKGROUND: Human factors (HF) play a major role in crisis development and management and simulator training can help to train HF aspects. We developed a modular training concept with psychological intensive briefing. The aim of the study was to see whether learning and transfer in the treatment group (TG) with the module "communication and team-cooperation" differed from that in the control group (CG) without psychological briefing ("anaesthesia crisis resource management type course"). METHODS: A total of 34 residents (TG: n=20, CG: n=14) managed 1 out of 3 scenarios and communication patterns and management were evaluated using video recordings. A questionnaire was answered at the end of the course and 2 months later participants were asked for lessons learnt and behavioral changes. RESULTS: Good communication and medical management showed a significant correlation (r=0.57, p=0.001). The TG showed greater initiative ( p=0.001) and came more often in conflict with the surgeon ( p=0.06). The TG also reported more behavioral changes than the CG 2 months later. The reported benefit of the simulation was training for rare events in the CG, whereas in the TG it was issues of communication and cooperation ( p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A training concept with psychological intensive briefing may enhance the transfer of HF aspects more than classical ACRM.