Medical group takes STEPPS to ensure patient safety

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Dan Gage
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  The 90th Medical Group at F. E. Warren is taking steps to better ensure the treatment and safety of active duty and retired servicemembers and their families.

In September, members of the 90th MDG began training with Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety.

TeamSTEPPS is a program that has been in practice in civilian hospitals since 2009. Hospitals that have utilized this program have seen a 50 percent reduction in intensive care unit stays, said Tech. Sgt. Paul Bischoff, 90th Medical Operations Squadron NCO-in-charge.

By the end of the year all members of the 90th MDG will be trained in the new program.

Training is based around a five-module program consisting of team structure, mutual support, leadership, communication and situation monitoring.

"Every member of the team should be up to speed on what's happening with a patient at all times," said Bischoff. "And that team includes the patient themselves."

Making the patient more knowledgeable, from knowing what questions to ask to managing medications properly, is a large part of TeamSTEPPS.

"The key to this program is patient safety," Bischoff added. "Making the patient more knowledgeable and involved is a big part of the program."

Two team meetings occur within the clinic, according to Bischoff. At the beginning of the day a morning brief is held to go over what needs to be done throughout the day. At the close of business, everyone meets for a daily debrief to review the day's events and address issues for the next day.

Teams have a rotation within to ensure each member has the ability to step in and help, whether it be family practice or in pediatrics.

"Having the opportunity to work in different areas of the clinic and with different providers is very beneficial," said Airman 1st Class Kara Oakley, 90th MDOS medical technician. "Each provider teaches you something different, and everyone has a better understanding of what's happening throughout the whole clinic."

TeamSTEPPS is a tool to improve communication and reduce the occurrence of errors.

"They call the medical practice a "practice" because that's exactly what it is," said Bischoff. "We're constantly learning new things in the medical profession, both military and civilian. What we want to accomplish with TeamSTEPPS is to avoid the errors and missed diagnosis that can be associated with that practice."

With TeamSTEPPS, improvements will be seen from both the patient's perspective and the members of the 90th MDG.

"Preventable medical errors are far more common than we ever realized," said Lt. Col. Steven Pflanz, 90th Medical Group's Executive Sponsor for the TeamSTEPPS initiative. "Much like human factors cause most aircraft mishaps, team factors contribute to many preventable medical errors. With TeamSTEPPS skills, our medics will function more effectively as teams, will enjoy greater job satisfaction, and will achieve better patient care outcomes. The TeamSTEPPS training is a powerful experience and will result in an action plan for optimizing team performance in the 90th MDG. This initiative is a win-win scenario for our personnel and our patient population."