At Mayo, pre-operative briefings lead to fewer errors

A Mayo Clinic pilot project has concluded that when the surgical team participates in a preoperative briefing prior to cardiac surgery, it leads to improved communication, fewer errors and lower costs.

As part of the project, a group of about 56 surgical staff members designed one- to eight-minute briefings during which team members discussed their roles, as well as specific concerns about a given patient. The briefings were designed to lessen disruptions during surgery, such as equipment and resource issues, and communications breakdowns.

Researchers then compared six surgeries before which briefings took place, as well as 10 where they did not. Miscommunication problems were cut by 53 percent when briefings were completed, and medical supply waste was lessened, as well.

More results from this study were published online in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

To learn more about this project:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
Study: Pre-op briefing can lower surgical errors
MA surgical errors persist despite efforts to address them