Have you ACED it? How to successfully implement performance-oriented, Acute Critical Event Debriefing

Abstract

Acute Critical Event Debriefing (ACED) after cardiopulmonary arrests should be the standard of care. However, little literature exists on how to implement performance-focused ACED in healthcare. Based on a series of successful ACED implementations in a variety of our settings, we describe key learnings and propose best practices to aid clinicians and organizations in establishing a successful ACED program. Within this practical guide, we also present a novel, standardized debriefing tool (Hotwash) that has been adapted for a variety of clinical settings.