The influence of team communication on the safety of care and patients

What role does team communication play?

Team communication plays a crucial role in improving patient safety. Here's how it helps:

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Reducing medical errors

Effective communication between members of the healthcare team can significantly reduce medical errors and avoidable adverse events.

This is explained by:

• The standardization of information transmissions
• The use of structured tools such as SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation)
• Implementation of the closed-loop communication technique

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Improving continuity of care

Effective communication ensures reliable transmission of important patient information, such as :

• Medical history
• Current prescriptions
• The results of clinical and paraclinical examinations

This transmission of information is crucial during team changes, changes in care location, or when requesting specialized advice.

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Stress and emergency situation management

In life-threatening emergencies, good communication helps to:

• Reducing stress within the team
• Ensure better coordination of actions.
• Maintain a shared awareness of the situation

Regular status updates allow all team members to have the same understanding of the patient's condition and the objectives to be achieved.

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Optimization of care processes

Effective communication, particularly through the use of the closed loop, can improve the speed and efficiency of care. It reduces the time needed to :

• Medication administration.
• The placement of infusions
• Obtaining laboratory results

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Training and simulation

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Team communication training, particularly through simulation, significantly improves collective performance in critical situations. It enables healthcare professionals to:

• Better recognize and manage their emotions and those of their colleagues
• Practice using effective communication tools
• Reduce errors, especially medication errors

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In conclusion, effective team communication is a key element in improving patient safety. It reduces errors, optimizes care coordination, effectively manages emergency situations, and improves the overall quality of patient care.

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