Joint Commission Pestle Analysis

The continuum of care cannot be completed alone, it requires communication, cooperation, and coordination for quality care. The Joint Commission cited communication the core component of teamwork as the root cause in nearly 60 percent of sentinel events. Having structured communication can prevent failures in communication. The use of verbal handoffs has been a tradition in nursing, however the use of structured handoffs and has shown to improve communication among registered nurses, including in the surgical arena. Furthermore, AORN supports a comprehensive surgical checklist from JACHO and WHO. However, The Joint Commission does not stipulate which team member initiates any section of the checklist except for site marking; The Joint Commission
also does not stipulate where these activities occur.
Although, the use of structured communication practices has improved the communication process there is a need of rigorous evaluation to examine handoff features that lead to the best performance by clinicians and the best outcomes for patients, as well as additional research to determine which type of protocols are most effective in varied settings and for different purposes (Halm, 2013). The use of surgical huddles in the preoperative area that involves a multidisciplinary team approach is a concept that offers promise to improve outcomes in operating room. Available evidence albeit weak demonstrates the positive impact on the process and outcomes in the perioperative patient. This was clearly demonstrated when the use of SCDs was called into question during a huddle. Future quantitative studies will strengthen the use of surgical huddles as a best practice in patient-centered care.