HEALTH CARE SYSTEM AIMS TO REDUCE MEDICAL ERRORS

  • Published
  • By Gerry J. Gilmore
  • American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFNEWS) --  The Defense Department has trained thousands of military health care providers to employ a quality management system that's designed to minimize human errors in hospital operating and delivery rooms, a senior defense official said Jan. 11.

The Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety, or Team STEPPS, program stresses teamwork and communication among doctors, nurses and other healthcare givers to improve quality, safety and efficiency across military health care, said Dr. David N. Tornberg, deputy assistant secretary of defense for clinical and program policy.

"Providing the optimum, cutting-edge care to our beneficiaries is what this is all about," Tornberg said. "And, I'm proud to say that the Department of Defense and the military health care system are absolute leaders in enhancing a culture of safety in our military treatment facilities."

Use of Team STEPPS creates "an environment where people broadly communicate and have a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of the team," he said.

Establishing a culture of patient-centered care through the use of teamwork and enhanced communication among health care employees is absolutely vital, Tornberg said.

"Miscommunication clearly is associated with medical errors," he said.

For more information on patient safety, visit the following Web sites: TeamSTEPPS, www.usuhs.mil/cerps/teamstepps.html; the DOD Patient Safety Program, https://patientsafety.satx.disa.mil/; and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety Network, http://psnet.ahrq.gov/.