Human factors affecting intraoperative patient safety

Abstract

Purpose of reviewThis review addresses the importance of some of the human factors for intraoperative patient safety with particular focus on the active failures. These are the mishaps or sentinel events related to decisons taken and actions performed by the individual at the delivery end of a system. Such sentinel events may greatly affect intraoperative patient safety. Recent findingsIntimidating, aggressive and disruptive communication is a cause of adverse staff interaction, which may then represent an important patient safety threat. Also, anaesthesiologist's physical and mental state and limitations may interfere with patient safety.

Patient safety culture and associated factors in secondary health care of the Capital Region of Denmark: influence of specialty, healthcare profession and gender

“…A recent systematic review shows that unacceptable behaviour negatively affects HCPs’ clinical performance and patient outcomes 24. Disruptive behaviour may also impact the HCPs' psychological safety and hence patient safety 25. One of the key features of a PSC is HCPs feeling psychologically safe.…”

“…It could, however, also be that the team members with a more positive perception of PSC could have a positive influence on team members with a less positive perception. Training teams to understand human factors and team skills are initiatives that can improve PSC 25 31. Several reviews have demonstrated an effect of training emergency teams such as trauma-resuscitation surgical theatre teams 2 32.…”

“…24 Disruptive behaviour may also impact the HCPs' psychological safety and hence patient safety. 25 One of the key features of a PSC is HCPs feeling psychologically safe. Edmondson describes psychological safety as an individual's perception of the consequences of taking interactional risks in a particular context, such as speaking up if things go wrong, or asking for feedback or help.…”

Healthcare professionals’ perception of their working environment and how to handle mental strain

“…The importance of good teamwork for HCP's wellbeing and for patient safety is well described in the literature. 24 We speculate, if this team-spirit could have something to do with anaesthesia nurses and anaesthesiologist doing the same basic procedures, which makes it is easier to see where one can contribute. Team members are open for communication and use humour to make it a good day.…”

A Comparison of Two Transport Monitor Systems With Regard to Efficiency and Staff Satisfaction in the Perioperative Setting

“…Furthermore, intrahospital transfers from the emergency department have been reported to have a 33% rate of unexpected events, such as hypoxemia, arrhythmias, or cardiopulmonary arrest during the transfers [ 4 ]. Patient safety is composed of several dimensions, whereby several human factors, such as time pressure, workload, emergency situations, and organizational issues, affect intraoperative patient safety [ 5 ]. Moreover, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has registered another worrying trend of over 500 alarm-related patient deaths within five years in the USA.…”