Presentation highlights importance of team-based approach for health care delivery

LOS ANGELES — A team-based approach to health care is critical for improving patient care and outcomes, according to a presentation given by Robin J. Trupp, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, CHFN, FAHA, at the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses Annual Conference.

“We have an urgent need [for team-based care] based on ineffective communication in our current model,” Trupp, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, said here. “We have uncoordinated care, which results in a lot of waste and duplication of services and is quite costly to our system. Ineffective communication, especially at times of [patient] hand-offs when providers are changing, or when the setting of care is changing, has been attributed to 41% of in-hospital errors that are largely avoidable if we could communicate better on what we’re doing.”

Robin J. Trupp

According to Trupp, the steps necessary for creating a high-performing health care team include acquiring funding, forming a team, selecting a team captain, educating team members, determining operations and reviewing and revising the plan. Trupp recommended using the guidelines outlined in Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety, a teamwork system created by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Defense Department.

“It’s a framework for enhancing teamwork and communication,” Trupp said.

Trupp also identified five principles for team-based health care: shared goals, establishing clear roles, mutual trust, effective communication and measureable processes.

“Teams hold the potential to improve the value of healthcare, but to reach full potential, institutions, organizations, and government must invest in the people and processes that lead to improved outcomes,” Trupp said. “Our top priority should be situations where team-based care promotes the most efficient and efficacious delivery of care and patient engagement, including shared decision-making.”

For more information:

Trupp RJ. Heart Failure is a Team Sport: Optimizing Team-Based Care. Presented at: the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses Annual Conference; June 26-28, 2014; Los Angeles.

Disclosure: Trupp reports no relevant financial disclosures.