4.1. Communication efficiency
Failures in the transmission of information and communication are common in surgical practice. Therefore, a review of published literature data is performed using Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, and interviews with surgical team members.
Different communication patterns are identified in surgical teams.38 Information transfer can be different in manner and tension level among team members. The way of information transfer is defined by the number of team members, communication channels, team members and their roles, and events during surgical operations (normal or emergency activities). Communication before operation can be very helpful in avoiding errors during operations. Many authors emphasize that the lack of communication before operation and ineffective communication during operation are the most important causes of errors during surgical operations. Therefore, the research on efficient communication patterns during surgical operations is important because these patterns enable the formation of standardized communication, through checklists, forms, and technological innovation, which improves the quality of transmission and communication in surgical operating rooms.
Lingard et al. identified the following key factors causing problems during communication in the OR: problems with timing; insufficient or inadequate information; unidentified goals; inadequate group composition causing decreased collaboration and communication tension.15
Team performance in surgery is increasingly seen as crucial for safety. Through the analysis of data, three themes are created that illustrate communication culture of team work in surgery: „building shared understandings through open communication“, „managing contextual stressors in a hierarchical environment“, and „intermittent membership influences team performance“.39 In creating a security culture in a health organization, the optimal results of the team rely on open discussion on team work and team expectations, and significantly depend on how organizational culture promotes such discussion.
Inadequate communication and team factors are the main causes of errors during surgical operations.15,40,41 The development of different methodological approaches in recent years has significantly improved research on communication in teamwork in health care. These studies are supported by studies that investigate causes of adverse events and impact of better communication of team work on the prevention of these events, quality of communication by health service providers and various forms of communication, coordination and leadership that support effective teamwork.42 Future research should be based on the development of new valid research tools that form and quantify research results, and not just descriptive explanations.