The TeamSTEPPS Approach to Safety and Quality

Abstract

Despite advances in patient safety since the landmark Institute of Medicine Report To Err is Human was published, adverse events and medical errors remain a persistent problem throughout health care. Safety experts have examined the practices in high-risk industries that maintain outstanding safety records for strategies to address the problem. Those efforts led to the development of Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS), a patient safety program that incorporates the principles of crew resource management and teamwork successfully used by industry into the health care setting. Evidence supports that the knowledge, skills, and attitudes, that comprise the core of TeamSTEPPS program, can improve safety and outcomes when used by members of the health care team. Successful implementation should assist the transition of health care workers from functioning as individual experts to performing as members of expert teams.