Instant Messaging for Team Coordination in Surgical Areas. Initial Experience of a Hip Team in a Third Level Hospital in Spain.
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Abstract
Introduction
Communication and collaboration is essential for a surgical team to minimize errors in the treatment of patients, and to provide the best results. Traditional means in order to prepare for surgery include the use of telephone communication, organizational meetings or emailing. Introducing instant messaging raises the possibility of improving communication in the surgical area. In the present study we show the initial experience in the use of instant messaging (IM) as an adjunct to traditional systems.
Material and Methods.
In April 2013 the Hip Unit at the Hospital Clinic (University Hospital, third level) created a group WhatsApp® including all health professionals involved in the surgical treatment of the patients. At all times, the explicit use of the names or images of patients was avoided. The group includes a total of 15 professionals. IM was introduced as a supplementary way of communication to the traditional media. Eight months after the introduction, posts made were reviewed, as well which professionals made greater use based on age, analyzing what was the reason for the conversations (studied period: 1/4/2013 to 31/12/2013). The topic of conversations was classified according to the following categories: 1) Operating room occupancy; 2) Schedule; 3) Prosthetic Material; 4) Patient´s clinical issues; 5) Surgical Information; 6) Miscellaneous.
Results
A total of 890 posts were made, 60 of which were excluded from the analysis because they were messages of support or withdrawal from the group, as well as initial tests. It gave a total of 830 messages, grouped in 177 conversations. The reasons for conversation were 1) Prosthetic Material (48 conversations, 27.1%) and 2) Operating room occupancy (47 conversations, 26.5 %) and 3) Schedule ( 21 conversations, 11.8%). Issues such as the time of entry of the patient or startup time for surgery were included in the operating room occupancy. The Prosthetic Material conversations mainly were about special needs of implants or the confirmation of reception of material. Surgical Information represented 18 conversations and patient´s clinical issues 6 conversations. In the Miscellaneous section we found unexpectedly 1) social group messages (29 conversations), 2) scientific articles of interest with link (6 conversations) and 3) sessions of interest to the team (2 conversations). There were no significant differences in the use of instant messaging based on age (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
Our experience in the introduction of IM has been favourable. The talks dealt most frequently about prosthetic material and operating room occupancy, with a resolution of the issues through the messaging system itself. Since there were no differences in the use regarding age group, and because its use is now consolidated after nearly a year of use, we believe that the incorporation of IM can be generalized to optimize patient care in surgical areas.
Communication and collaboration is essential for a surgical team to minimize errors in the treatment of patients, and to provide the best results. Traditional means in order to prepare for surgery include the use of telephone communication, organizational meetings or emailing. Introducing instant messaging raises the possibility of improving communication in the surgical area. In the present study we show the initial experience in the use of instant messaging (IM) as an adjunct to traditional systems.
Material and Methods.
In April 2013 the Hip Unit at the Hospital Clinic (University Hospital, third level) created a group WhatsApp® including all health professionals involved in the surgical treatment of the patients. At all times, the explicit use of the names or images of patients was avoided. The group includes a total of 15 professionals. IM was introduced as a supplementary way of communication to the traditional media. Eight months after the introduction, posts made were reviewed, as well which professionals made greater use based on age, analyzing what was the reason for the conversations (studied period: 1/4/2013 to 31/12/2013). The topic of conversations was classified according to the following categories: 1) Operating room occupancy; 2) Schedule; 3) Prosthetic Material; 4) Patient´s clinical issues; 5) Surgical Information; 6) Miscellaneous.
Results
A total of 890 posts were made, 60 of which were excluded from the analysis because they were messages of support or withdrawal from the group, as well as initial tests. It gave a total of 830 messages, grouped in 177 conversations. The reasons for conversation were 1) Prosthetic Material (48 conversations, 27.1%) and 2) Operating room occupancy (47 conversations, 26.5 %) and 3) Schedule ( 21 conversations, 11.8%). Issues such as the time of entry of the patient or startup time for surgery were included in the operating room occupancy. The Prosthetic Material conversations mainly were about special needs of implants or the confirmation of reception of material. Surgical Information represented 18 conversations and patient´s clinical issues 6 conversations. In the Miscellaneous section we found unexpectedly 1) social group messages (29 conversations), 2) scientific articles of interest with link (6 conversations) and 3) sessions of interest to the team (2 conversations). There were no significant differences in the use of instant messaging based on age (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
Our experience in the introduction of IM has been favourable. The talks dealt most frequently about prosthetic material and operating room occupancy, with a resolution of the issues through the messaging system itself. Since there were no differences in the use regarding age group, and because its use is now consolidated after nearly a year of use, we believe that the incorporation of IM can be generalized to optimize patient care in surgical areas.
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