Assessing reduction of operating room team error using crew resource management principles.

摘要

There is an unacceptable rate of human error committed by medical operating room (OR) teams during surgical processes in health care organizations (IOM, 1999). Estimates indicated more than 98,000 patients die in health care facilities annually (IOM, 1999) due to preventable human factors issues associated with poor team coordination within the OR environment (Shojania & Wachter, 2004). Over the last 35 years in the aviation industry, there were significant reductions in human factor error through the implementation of Crew Resource Management (CRM) principles (Helmreich, 2000). As indicated in the literature, practitioners and health care organizations remained unconvinced to change cultural norms to a CRM-like environment because minimal similarities had not been established (Helmreich & Musson, 2004). Leaders in the health care industry called for further investigation into the justification, application, and benefit of CRM in health care (Helmreich & Musson, 2004). The purpose of the quantitative study was to correlate OR team member similarities in professional and cultural attitudes previously identified as occurring in aviation flight crews. The research question addressed was: To what extent, if any, is there a significant difference between OR team position and CRM human factors attitudes? Study evidence identified a statistical significance between OR human factors attitudes and aviation human factors attitudes. Study evidence indicated a basis for integrating aviation CRM principles in health care, which would reduce unnecessary human factors medical error, reduce associated business financial loss, and increase patient health care quality in health care.