The role of teamworking in error reduction during vascular procedures

Background: To examine the associations between teamworking processes and error rates during vascular surgical procedures and then make informed recommendations for future studies and practices in this area. Methods: This is a single-center observational pilot study. Twelve procedures were observed over a 3-week period by a trained observer. Errors were categorized using a standardized error capture tool. Leadership and teamworking processes were categorized based on the Malakis et al. (2010) framework. Data are expressed as frequencies, means, standard deviations and percentages. Results: Errors rates (per hour) were likely to be reduced when there were effective prebriefing measures to ensure that members were aware of their roles and responsibilities (4.50 vs. 5.39 errors/hr), communications were kept to a practical and effective minimum (4.64 vs. 5.56 errors/hr), when the progress of surgery was communicated throughout (3.14 vs. 8.33 errors/hr), and when team roles changed during the procedure (3.17 vs. 5.97 errors/hr). Conclusions: Reduction of error rates is a critical goal for surgical teams. The present study of teamworking processes in this environment shows that there is a variation that should be further examined. More effective teamworking could prevent or mitigate a range of errors. The development of vascular surgical team members should incorporate principles of teamworking and appropriate communication.