title: The 'go-between' study: a simulation study comparing the 'Traffic Lights' and 'SBAR' tools as a means of communication between anaesthetic staff.
abstract: Communicating non-urgent, urgent and frank emergency requests for assistance between anaesthetists in theatre often requires a 'go-between' - frequently a non-anaesthetic healthcare professional - to transmit information. We compared the currently recommended situation, background, assessment, recommendation (SBAR) tool with a newly devised Traffic Lights tool ('red alert', 'amber assist' and 'green query') in a simulation study to assess communication quality using 12 validated clinical scenarios of varying urgency. Compared to SBAR, Traffic Lights was used more consistently ('very clear' or 'clear' Traffic Lights 94% vs SBAR 69%); transferred information better (two or three pieces of information correctly transferred Traffic Lights 85%, SBAR 44%; and was judged to lead to greater clarity (all p < 0.0001). Message delivery time was significantly reduced (Traffic Lights 20.5 s vs SBAR 45.5 s, median (95% CI) difference 25 (19-30) s, p < 0.001). Users rated the Traffic Lights system as significantly more useful than SBAR, with 96% of participants preferring the Traffic Lights tool. Results were independent of go-between training. We recommend the adoption of this communication tool as standard practice for anaesthetic teams.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Royal United Hospital, Bath, UK.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: MacDougall-Davis
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Royal United Hospital, Bath, UK.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kettley
authors.affiliation: Royal United Hospital, Bath, UK.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Cook
mesh_terms: D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000379:methods*; D001296:Audiovisual Aids; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D008348:Manikins; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D009873:Operating Rooms; D010348:Patient Care Team
keywords: communication; emergency; human factors; interdisciplinary communication; patient safety