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For this study, researchers recorded and transcribed six operations and recorded whether four types of communication failures occurred: missing audience, unresolved purpose, insufficient or inaccurate information and poor timing. Ultimately, the researchers observed communications errors at a rate of one every eight minutes.
Their analysis showed communication errors are nearly twice as frequent during cross-disciplinary exchanges than intradisciplinary exchanges. In addition, the researchers determined four of the most common areas for intraoperative communication errors:
1. Dissemination of policy information
2. Coordination of personnel
3. Conveying the planned procedure
4. Conveying the equipment needed
These miscommunications most often led to inefficiency, resources waste and work-arounds.
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