[Hospital-based acute care of emergency patients: the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork]

Abstract

Background: The care of emergency patients with life-threatening injuries or diseases presents a special challenge to the treatment team. Good interdisciplinary cooperation is essential for fast, priority-oriented, and efficient emergency room management. Particularly in complex situations, such as trauma room care, so-called human factors largely determine the safety and performance of the individual as well as the team. Approximately 70 % of all adverse events stem from human factors rather than from a lack of medical expertise. It has been shown that 70-80 % of such incidents are preventable through special training.

Objectives: Established course concepts based on so-called ABCDE schemes are a good basis for creating algorithms for targeted therapy, yet they are not sufficient for the training of team-specific issues. For this, special course concepts are required, such as crew resource management, which is provided through simulator-based training scenarios. This includes task management, teamwork, decision-making, and communication. The knowledge of what needs to be done in a team under the adverse and complex conditions of a medical emergency must be gained by training based on realistic and effective measures.

Conclusion: Course concepts that are geared toward interdisciplinary and interprofessional team training optimize patient safety and care by supporting the nontechnical abilities of team members.