33424 Multidisciplinary Huddles

Course overview

Discussion about multidisciplinary huddles, including hospital performance metrics that can be addressed, how multidisciplinary huddles can impact patient outcomes, key components, and roles among possible multidisciplinary huddle team members. There is also a discussion about how implicit bias may impact healthcare. Despite significant advances, patient safety remains a major concern in healthcare settings. Huddles have become an increasingly common practice in healthcare, and there has been an increase in hospital-based huddles, with wide-ranging formats and varying focuses. When used consistently, huddles are an effective and efficient way for healthcare teams to share information, review their performance, proactively flag safety concerns, increase accountability, and ensure that safety interventions are incorporated into healthcare systems. Huddles increase individual and collective accountability for patient safety, designate a fixed time during the workday or shift to focus on care coordination, facilitate immediate face-to-face clarification of issues, result in fewer interruptions during the rest of the workday, and foster a culture of empowerment and collaboration in healthcare teams.