Family-centered rounding reduces medical mistakes

Ivanhoe Newswire

In a surprising healthcare revelation, some hospitals have found that life-saving solutions don’t always come from the latest technology or costly equipment. A simple shift in how doctors conduct their rounds is making a monumental difference in patient care and, more importantly, in saving lives.

Outside the hospital room of Allison’s eight-year-old daughter, a team of medical experts are working on a treatment plan.

“Within 24 hours, she went from a little rash showing up on her ankle to, in the ER, dangerous blood pressure drop, swollen face and hands,” she recalls.

But Allison knows when it comes to her daughter, she is the expert, and at Primary Children’s Hospital, she is treated like one.

“They weren’t just coming to me and telling everything they were going to do, we were making a plan together, like, ‘This is what we can offer, this is what we can do, what do you think? How will this work best for her?’ And it just has been, I didn’t know that hospitals could work like this and I love it,” Allison expresses.

University of Utah Health and Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital doctor, Irene Kocolas, MD says, “We’re really able to engage our families and our parents. Who knows a child best than their family?”

The traditional way of patient care often left parents in the dark, their input overlooked or ignored by the medical team. But family-centered rounding is reshaping how medical teams communicate with families – planning with them instead of for them. Such a simple change is redefining patient care.

“When we’re all working together, the parent, the nurse and the physician team, not only do we feel like we have better communication, we decrease our errors,” Dr. Kocolas mentions.

Allison tells Ivanhoe, “I feel like I have a family that are all taking care of me. I feel like I can trust them and I can open my mouth about anything on my mind and they will listen and see what they can do about it.”

A recent study found a 38 percent decrease in preventable medical errors when family-centered rounding was implemented.

Contributors to this news report include: Jessica Sanchez, Producer; Kirk Manson, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.