Assarian Borna A, Shahid Muhammed, Assarian Melika Z, Ito Erisa
Geriatrics, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, GBR.
Geriatrics, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, GBR.
Cureus. 2025 Jan 20;17(1):e77722. doi: 10.7759/cureus.77722. eCollection 2025 Jan.
Background Communication and teamwork are essential in medicine. Established standards emphasise the importance of collaboration and access to support. Some departments divide doctors into teams; however, inter-team communication is not always efficient. This quality improvement project aimed to improve teamwork and communication between resident-doctor teams at the Medicine for Older People (MOP) department at University Hospital Southampton using a messaging application. Secondary objectives were to assess the management of workload, resident doctor well-being, and patient safety. Materials and methods A WhatsApp (Meta Platforms, Inc., Menlo Park, California, United States) communication group was created to involve all eight MOP teams (no patient information was discussed). Anonymous questionnaires were used pre-implementation and two months post-implementation to assess the impact on communication, teamwork, overtime hours, doctor well-being, and patient safety. Data analysis was carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 30 (Released 2024; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). We calculated 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and p-values using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results All 24 resident doctors (Foundation/Senior House Officers) participated, and 19 completed both questionnaires. Significant improvements were seen in communication (very good/good ratings: pre-implementation 5%; post-implementation 100%, 95% CI 1.62-2.58, p<0.001), teamwork (pre-implementation 26%; post-intervention 84%, 95% CI 1.12-2.15, p<0.001), and workplace well-being (pre-intervention 47%; post-intervention 84%, 95% CI 0.47-1.21, p=0.001). Mean days worked overtime per week were reduced from 1.89 to 1.31 (95% CI (-0.91) - (-0.25), p=0.005) and the mean time worked overtime was reduced from 29.7 minutes/week to 19.9 minutes/week (95% CI (-14.61) - (-4.92), p=0.003). All the doctors (100%) strongly agreed/agreed the intervention helped distribute tasks more evenly and facilitated the timely completion of work. Around 90% felt this very positively/positively impacted patient safety. All doctors recommended this intervention for future residents. Conclusion Group messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, can enhance communication between resident-doctor teams, leading to improvements in supportive teamwork, patient care, and doctor well-being.
背景
沟通与团队合作在医学领域至关重要。既定标准强调协作及获得支持的重要性。一些科室将医生分成不同团队；然而，团队间的沟通并非总是高效。本质量改进项目旨在通过一款即时通讯应用程序，改善南安普敦大学医院老年医学科住院医生团队之间的团队合作与沟通。次要目标是评估工作量管理、住院医生的幸福感及患者安全情况。
材料与方法
创建了一个WhatsApp（美国加利福尼亚州门洛帕克市元平台公司）通讯群组，纳入所有八个老年医学团队（未讨论患者信息）。在实施前及实施后两个月使用匿名问卷，以评估对沟通、团队合作、加班时长、医生幸福感及患者安全的影响。使用IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows，版本30（2024年发布；美国纽约州阿蒙克市IBM公司）进行数据分析。我们使用Wilcoxon符号秩检验计算95%置信区间（CI）和p值。
结果
所有24名住院医生（实习医生/高级住院医生）均参与，19人完成了两份问卷。在沟通方面有显著改善（评价为非常好/好的比例：实施前5%；实施后100%，95% CI 1.62 - 2.58，p<0.001）、团队合作（实施前26%；干预后84%，95% CI 1.12 - 2.15，p<0.001）及工作场所幸福感（干预前47%；干预后84%，95% CI 0.47 - 1.21，p = 0.001）。每周平均加班天数从1.89天降至1.31天（95% CI (-0.91) - (-0.25)，p = 0.005），平均加班时长从每周29.7分钟降至19.9分钟（95% CI (-14.61) - (-4.92)，p = 0.003）。所有医生（100%）强烈同意/同意该干预有助于更均匀地分配任务并促进工作的及时完成。约90%的医生认为这对患者安全有非常积极/积极的影响。所有医生都推荐将此干预措施用于未来的住院医生。
结论
诸如WhatsApp之类的群组即时通讯应用程序可加强住院医生团队之间的沟通，从而改善支持性团队合作、患者护理及医生幸福感。
