Brennan Caitlin W, Kelly Brittany, Skarf Lara Michal, Tellem Rotem, Dunn Kathleen M, Poswolsky Sheila
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Nursing Department, Research and Practice Development Section, Bethesda, MD, USA Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA
Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA.
Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2016 Jul;33(6):585-93. doi: 10.1177/1049909115577049. Epub 2015 Mar 20.
Increasing demands on palliative care teams point to the need for continuous improvement to ensure teams are working collaboratively and efficiently. This quality improvement initiative focused on improving interprofessional team meeting efficiency and subsequently patient care. Meeting start and end times improved from a mean of approximately 9 and 6 minutes late in the baseline period, respectively, to a mean of 4.4 minutes late (start time) and ending early in our sustainability phase. Mean team satisfaction improved from 2.4 to 4.5 on a 5-point Likert-type scale. The improvement initiative clarified communication about patients' plans of care, thus positively impacting team members' ability to articulate goals to other professionals, patients, and families. We propose several recommendations in the form of a team meeting "toolkit."
