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A short, preoperative team briefing prior to cardiac surgery — where each person on the team speaks — improves communication and reduces errors and costs, according to a pilot study conducted at Mayo Clinic.

Mayo researchers say this is the first such study to use real-time observations to measure the effect of preoperative briefings on specific disruptions to surgery. Disruptions were categorized as patient-related issues, equipment or resource issues, procedural knowledge issues, and miscommunication events.

When briefs were conducted, miscommunication events were reduced by 53%, there were significantly fewer delays, nurses made fewer trips outside the operating room to retrieve supplies, and waste of medical supplies was reduced because the team better anticipated specific needs for each surgery.

“The goal of the briefings was to get everyone used to talking when there wasn’t a problem, so they would be more likely to speak up when problems occur,” said Thoralf Sundt, MD, Mayo Clinic cardiac surgeon who volunteered his surgery team for the study. “We know that miscommunication is a major cause of sentinel events, an unexpected death, or serious injury.”

Results from the Mayo Clinic pilot are published online in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

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