Christopher P. Nemeth - Improving Healthcare Team Communication

IMPROVING HEALTHCARE TEAM COMMUNICATION

For those who serve in healthcare

Building on Lessons from Aviation and Aerospace

Edited by
CHRISTOPHER P. NEMETH
The University of Chicago, USA

ASHGATE

Christopher P. Nemeth 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

Christopher P. Nemeth has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editor of this work.

Published by
Ashgate Publishing Limited
Gower House
Croft Road
Aldershot
Hampshire GU11 3HR
England

Ashgate Publishing Company
Suite 420
101 Cherry Street
Burlington, VT 05401-4405
USA

Ashgate website: http://www.ashgate.com

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Improving healthcare team communication : building on

lessons from aviation and aerospace
1. Health care teams 2. Communication in medicine
I. Nemeth, Christopher P.
362.1068

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Improving healthcare team communication : building on lessons from aviation and aerospace / [edited] by Christopher P. Nemeth.

p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7546-7025-4 (hardback : alk. paper)

1. Health care teams. 2. Communication in medicine. I. Nemeth, Christopher P. [DNLM: 1. Communication. 2. Patient Care Team. 3. Group Processes. 4. Interprofessional Relations. 5. Risk Management. W 84.8 I34 2008]

R729.5.H4I47 2008
362.1--dc22

2007046577

ISBN: 978-0-7546-7025-4
ISBN: 978-1-4094-8561-2 (ebk-ePUB)

Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall.

Christopher P. Nemeth

Eric M. Eisenberg

Judith Orasanu and Ute Fischer

David M. Musson

Charles E. Billings, Philip J. Smith and Amy L. Spencer

Emily S. Patterson, Jennifer Watts-Perotti and David D. Woods

Melanie C. Wright and Mica R. Endsley

Tom Reader, Rhona Flin and Brian Cuthbertson

Christopher P. Nemeth, Julie Kowalsky, Marianne Brandwijk, Madelyn Kahana, P. Allan Klock and Richard I. Cook

Jeffrey P. Brown

Leila Johannesen

Anne-Sophie Nyssen and Adlade Blavier

Rod Elford

Christopher P. Nemeth and Robert L. Wears

Charles E. Billings is affiliated with the Cognitive Systems Engineering Laboratory at the Ohio State University. He is a Clinical Professor Emeritus in Preventive Medicine at the Ohio State University and a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association and the Royal Aeronautical Society. Prior to returning to the University, he was chief scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center, where in 1975 he and his colleagues developed and implemented the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS).

Adelade Blavier has a PhD in psychology and works as a senior researcher thanks to a grant of the Belgian National Fund of Scientific Research at the Department of Cognitive Ergonomics (Prof. AS Nyssen) of the University of Lige, Belgium. With a background in neuropsychology and cognitive psychology, her domain of research concerns the visual perception and more specifically, the depth perception, visual attention and eye movements, in relation to human errors in complex systems.

Marianne J. Brandwijk, MD practices Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. While performing her fellowship in pediatric critical care at The University of Chicago Medical Center, Dr. Brandwijk studied how clinicians perform cognitive work in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) with particular attention to technical work issues.

Jeffrey P. Brown, MEd, is engaged in patient safety research and improvement initiatives concerned with interdisciplinary decision making and teamwork. In 2002, he joined a cardiac surgery care team in receiving a John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety Award for System Innovation from the Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum. He served as advisor and consultant in the development of an interdisciplinary decision-making methodology that significantly improved the safety and quality of care for post-operative open heart surgery patients. His affiliations include Klein Associates Division of Applied Research Associates and the University System of New Hampshire, USA. Prior to 1996, he served as a faculty member and department chair for university aviation programs. He has authored and co-authored a number of articles and book chapters on patient safety. Brown earned his MEd and BS degrees from the University of Maine.

Richard I. Cook, MD is a physician, educator, and researcher at the University of Chicago. His current research interests include the study of human error, the role of technology in human expert performance, and patient safety. He is internationally recognized as a leading expert on medical accidents, complex system failures, and human performance at the sharp end of these systems. Dr. Cooks most often cited publications are Gaps in the continuity of patient care and progress in patient safety, Operating at the Sharp End: The complexity of human error, Adapting to New Technology in the Operating Room, and the report A Tale of Two Stories: Contrasting Views of Patient Safety. Dr. Cook regularly practices clinical procedures at various sites in the University of Chicago Medical Center. Home page :

Brian Cuthbertson (MD, FRCA) is a Senior Lecturer in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the University of Aberdeen. His research interests include the improvement of patient outcomes from critical illness, with investigations focusing upon patient safety, teamwork, the early recognition of critical illness, and quality of life after ICU care.

Eric M. Eisenberg, PhD, is Professor of Communication at the University of South Florida. He received his doctorate from Michigan State University in 1982. Dr Eisenberg twice received the National Communication Association Award for the outstanding research publication in organizational communication, as well as the Burlington Foundation award for excellence in teaching. He is also the recipient of the Ohio University Elizabeth Andersch Award for significant contributions to the field of communication. Dr Eisenberg is the author of over 75 articles, chapters, and books on the subjects of organizational communication, health communication, and communication theory. His best-selling textbook Organizational Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraint (currently in its fifth edition) received the Academic Textbook Authors Texty award for the best textbook of the year. He is an internationally recognized researcher, teacher, and consultant specializing in the strategic use of communication to promote positive organizational change. Home page: .

Rod Elford, BPE, MD, CCFP, MSc, is the first Canadian physician to complete formal training in telehealth, specifically a two-year international clinical research fellowship in telemedicine and a masters degree in child telepsychiatry. He is a founding member of the Canadian Society of Telehealth and the International Society for Telemedicine. Dr Elford is the co-founder and director of Digital Telehealth Incorporated and has worked as a telemedicine consultant for many organizations, including the Canadian Space Agency. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary, associated with the Centre for Health Information Technology Innovation. Currently, Dr Elford is the Medical Director for Health Link Alberta, a province-wide health call center. He continues to practice as an urgent care physician.