Scientific observational metrics can be reliably used by medical and non-medical observers in cancer MDTs. Such robust assessment tools provide part of a toolkit for team evaluation and enhancement.

This study suggests communication failures occur across the entire continuum of care and the participants opined that it could have a potentially serious impact on patient safety. This data can be used to plan interventions targeted at the entire surgical pathway so as to improve the quality of care at all stages of the patient's journey.

BackgroundThere are few studies that examine the processes that interdisciplinary teams engage in and how we can design health information systems (HIS) to support those team processes. This was an exploratory study with two purposes: (1) To develop a framework for interdisciplinary team communication based on structures, processes and outcomes that were identified as having occurred during weekly team meetings. (2) To use the framework to guide 'e-teams' HIS design to support interdisciplinary team meeting communication.MethodsAn ethnographic approach was used to collect data on two interdisciplinary teams. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data according to structures, processes and outcomes.ResultsWe present details for team meta-concepts of structures, processes and outcomes and the concepts and sub concepts within each meta-concept. We also provide an exploratory framework for interdisciplinary team communication and describe how the framework can guide HIS design to support 'e-teams'.ConclusionThe structures, processes and outcomes that describe interdisciplinary teams are complex and often occur in a non-linear fashion. Electronic data support, process facilitation and team video conferencing are three HIS tools that can enhance team function.

The present study identified that the postoperative handover is informal, unstructured and inconsistent with often incomplete information transfer. Based on end-user input, a handover protocol was successfully developed and validated. Use of this may facilitate standardization of this critical activity and thereby improve the quality of patient care.

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Numerous intraoperative communications were found in both laparoscopic and open cases during a relatively low-risk procedure (average, 2 communications/min). In the observed cases, surgeons actively directed and led OR teams in the intraoperative phase. The lack of communication between surgeons and anesthesiologists ought to be evaluated further. Simple, inexpensive interventions shown to streamline intraoperative communication and teamworking (preoperative briefing, surgeons' mental practice) should be considered further.

This study comprehensively maps information sources, problems, and solutions expressed by OR end-users. Recent developments in skills training modules and patient safety interventions for the OR (Surgical Safety Checklist) are discussed as potential interventions that will ameliorate communication in ORs, with a view to enhance patient safety and surgical care.

Teamwork skills vary widely between handovers and can be consistently scored using both rating scales. It is feasible to use adapted teamwork skill rating scales in shift handover and they appear to measure different constructs to traditional handover measures such as interruptions and communication checklist completion. The assessment of teamwork skills is a necessary complement to the assessment of completeness of information transfer when evaluating the overall quality of handover.