The Daily Readiness Huddle: a process to rapidly identify issues and foster improvement through problem-solving accountability

Donnelly, Lane F.; Cherian, Shirley S.; Chua, Kimberly B.; Thankachan, Sam; Millecker, Laura A.; Koroll, Alex G.; Bisset, George S.

doi:10.1007/s00247-016-3712-x

Cited by 26 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…There was a general consensus as to what the most important operational features are and a high degree of belief in the venture. This is something that has been identified in other, mostly US, studies (Goldenhar et al 2013;Verschoor et al 2007;Freitag & Carroll 2011;Donnelly et al 2017;Glymph et al 2015;Wagner et al 2015). These characteristics are not fixed however.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Sustaining the commitment to patient safety huddles: insights from eight acute hospital ward teams

et al. 2019

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Background: A recent initiative in hospital settings is the patient safety huddle (PSH): a brief multidisciplinary meeting held to highlight patient safety issues and actions to mitigate identified risks. Aim: The authors studied eight ward teams that had sustained PSHs for over 2 years in order to identify key contributory factors. Methods: Unannounced observations of the PSH on eight acute wards in one UK hospital were undertaken. Interviews and focus groups were also conducted. These were recorded and transcribed for framework analysis. Findings: A range of factors contributes to the sustainability of the PSH including a high degree of belief and consensus in purpose, adaptability, determination, multidisciplinary team involvement, a non-judgemental space, committed leadership and consistent reward and celebration. Conclusion: The huddles studied have developed and been shaped over time through a process of trial and error, and persistence. Overall this study offers insights into the factors that contribute to this sustainability.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Sustaining the commitment to patient safety huddles: insights from eight acute hospital ward teams

et al. 2019

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“…Previous success stories of team building and coordination provided encouragement as we planned improvements in our unit. One paediatric radiology department implemented the daily safety huddle, 7 and another study in the UK showed the positive impact of huddles in a sample of National Health Service (NHS) paediatric wards where the Situation Awareness For Everyone (SAFE) programme was implemented. The huddle was a central component of the programme.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing teamwork communication and patient safety responsiveness in a paediatric intensive care unit using the daily safety huddle tool

et al. 2020

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BackgroundOpen communication between leadership and frontline staff at the unit level is vital in promoting safe hospital culture. Our hospital staff culture survey identified the failure to address safety issues as one of the areas where staff felt unable to express their concerns openly. Thus, this improvement project using the daily safety huddle tool has been developed to enhance teamwork communication and respond effectively to patient safety issues identified in a paediatric intensive care unit.MethodsWe used the TeamSTEPPS quality approach. TeamSTEPPS is an evidence-based set of teamwork tools developed by the US Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality to enhance teamwork and communication. We applied TeamSTEPPS using a tool called the Daily Safety Huddle, aiming at improving communication and interaction between healthcare workers and building trust by acting immediately when there is any patient safety issue or concern at the unit level.ResultsDuring the period from April to December 2017, the interaction between frontline staff and unit leadership increased through compliance with the daily safety huddle. Initially, compliance was at 73%, but it increased to 97%, with a total of 340 safety issues addressed. The majority of these safety issues pertained to infection control and medication errors (109; 32.05%), followed by communication (83; 24.41%), documentation (59; 17.35%), other issues (37; 10.88%), procedure (20; 5.88%), patient flow (16; 4.7%) and equipment and supplies (16; 4.7%).ConclusionsSystematic use of daily safety huddle is a powerful tool to create an equitable environment where frontline staff can speak up freely about daily patient safety concerns. The huddle leads to a more open and active discussion with unit leadership and to the ability to perform the right action at the right time.

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“…In more recent years, the huddle has been increasingly practiced and reported in the medical setting. 7,[10][11][12] Its features generally include a short duration, the reporting of safety and quality events, enumeration of critical metrics of operation, and close communication among attendees for immediate feedback. Our laboratory medicine division huddle, structured on common elements in a laboratory huddle 7 was helpful in encouraging interteam interactions and monitoring key quality metrics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Daily Operational Huddle and a Real-Time Communication Application Improve Efficiency of Laboratory Processes

Cao

Dowlin

West

et al. 2021

Archives of Pathology &Amp; Laboratory Medicine

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Context.— Clinical laboratory processes that require cooperation among geographically distinct sections often face challenges. We describe these challenges as related to the Gram staining of cerebrospinal fluid, a key test in the management of patients with suspected central nervous system infections, and our attempts to improve quality outcomes. Objective.— To evaluate multiple tools and strategies for their effectiveness in optimizing the turnaround time of tests sharing a specimen or workflow. Design.— Over the course of 5 years, the turnaround time of cerebrospinal fluid Gram stain was studied at one of the largest children's health systems in the US. Baseline data showed suboptimal compliance to targeted turnaround times. A conventional approach to process standardization, and 2 innovative tools that facilitate horizontal integration were applied to the main campus laboratory as follows: a daily huddle and a novel electronic communication application that was interfaced with the laboratory information system. Turnaround time and its variation were assessed. Two other hospital laboratories within the health system that did not undergo these quality interventions served as controls. Results.— Standardization of processes reduced the variability of turnaround time but only minimally shortened it. In contrast, an interteam daily huddle that monitored key quality metrics together with the communication application, improved turnaround time significantly and sustainably. Conclusions.— Communication strategies involving a physical or virtual gathering of laboratory representatives encourage horizontal communication and improve turnaround times. These tools are generally applicable and could be used to improve other processes in healthcare, especially those where a workflow is shared between 2 geographically distinct areas of a health system.

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The Daily Readiness Huddle: a process to rapidly identify issues and foster improvement through problem-solving accountability

Abstract: The Daily Readiness Huddle process has given us a framework to rapidly identify issues, bring accountability to problem-solving, and foster improvement. It has also had a positive effect on team-building and coordination.

Cited by 26 publications

References 2 publications

Sustaining the commitment to patient safety huddles: insights from eight acute hospital ward teams

Sustaining the commitment to patient safety huddles: insights from eight acute hospital ward teams

Enhancing teamwork communication and patient safety responsiveness in a paediatric intensive care unit using the daily safety huddle tool

A Daily Operational Huddle and a Real-Time Communication Application Improve Efficiency of Laboratory Processes

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