In the April 2106 edition of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, the feature article examines how reporting disrespectful and unsafe physician behavior can improve that behavior and ultimately patient safety.
The research was conducted at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., with the Co-Worker Observation Reporting System. The system implements methods for providing patient and family feedback to promote physician behavior change. The information was available to all team members and nurses as well as physician colleagues.
Here are five key notes:
1. The VUMC leaders used the "Project Bundles" readiness assessment in developing the CORS system to identify key people, organizational supports and systems.
2. Eighty-four percent of the time the peer messengers shared CORS reports with physicians and advanced practice professionals who were associated with at least one report.
3. Three percent of the medical staff were associated with a "pattern of CORS reports" since CORS began. Another 71 percent of the recipients were not named in any subsequent reports with one-year follow-up.
4. The monitoring and documenting unprofessional conduct and sharing the information with these healthcare professionals is feasible, as exemplified in this project.
5. Willingness to share respectful, non-judgmental and timely feedback can encourage self-reflection, according to the report. Leadership commitment and follow-up surveillance showed most of the professionals self-regulated after receiving CORS data.