By Dr Than Lwin Tun

THE Ministry of Health, Myanmar, laid down two objectives: to enable every citizen to attain full life expectancy and enjoy longevity of life and to ensure that every citizen is free from diseases.

The ways forward for the De­partment of Medical Services are retention of human capital in an all-inclusive approach, enhancing individual performance by time motion analysis, proper logistics and administrative support and enhancing the performance of the hospital by result-based manage­ment, patient safety and just-in-time response.

Teamwork and communica­tion are essential for promoting teams that develop shared un­derstanding, anticipate needs and problems, and apply standard tools for managing communication and conflict. In such doing, the follow­ing must be considered to improve safety in public hospitals: -

⁕ Enhanced Patient Safety: Ef­fective communication and teamwork among healthcare providers reduce the potential for errors, which can signifi­cantly improve patient safety. When all team members are on the same page, the likeli­hood of mistakes decreases.

⁕ Improved Patient Outcomes: Collaborative efforts ensure that patients receive compre­hensive care. That means bet­ter diagnosis, treatment plans, and follow-up care, leading to improved health outcomes.

⁕ Increased Patient Satisfaction: When healthcare providers communicate clearly and work together efficiently, pa­tients and their families feel more involved and informed about their care. That leads to higher satisfaction levels.

⁕ Prevention of Medical Er­rors: Miscommunication is a common cause of medical errors. By fostering a culture of open communication and teamwork, hospitals can pre­vent many of these errors.

⁕ Efficient Care Delivery: Team­work and effective communi­cation streamline processes, making the delivery of care more efficient. That can lead to shorter hospital stays and better resource utilization.

⁕ Engagement of Patients and Families: Engaging patients and their families in the care process through clear communication helps them understand their treatment plans and what to expect. This involvement is linked to few­er adverse events and better overall care.

Simply treating colleagues and patients with respect – talking with them and listening to what they have to say with an open mind – is the first step towards effective communication and teamwork. Structured communication makes interactions with patients more effective and efficient, and it does the same thing for interactions among colleagues.

A critical communication tool that can help during brief­ings and debriefings is called “Situation-Background-Assess­ment-Recommendation” (SBAR). The SBAR technique provides a framework for communication be­tween members of the healthcare team about a patient’s condition.

S = Situation (a concise state­ment of the problem)

B = Background (pertinent and brief information related to the situation)

A = Assessment (analysis and considerations of options – what you found/think)

R = Recommendation (action requested/recommended – what you want).

It allows for an easy and fo­cused way to set expectations for what will be communicated and how between members of the team, which is essential for de­veloping teamwork and fostering a culture of patient safety.

Effective teamwork and com­munication are critical parts of the design of safe systems. In addition, strong teamwork and communica­tion skills with patients and their families, hospitals can enhance the quality of care, improve satisfac­tion, and ultimately boost overall performance.

References

⁕ https://www.aha.org/news/ blog/2017-03-15-focusing-team­work-and-communication-im­prove-patient-safety

⁕ https://psnet.ahrq.gov/perspec­tive/approach-improving-pa­tient-safety-communication

⁕ https://link.springer.com/chap­ter/10.1007/978-3-030-94610-4_23

⁕ https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/ content/13/suppl_1/i85