A major focus of these agencies has been supporting research and development activities centered on improving team performance in the delivery of care.
1 Since the release of this Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Department of Defense (DoD) have been Federal leaders in the patient safety movement. Public reaction to problems associated with patient safety reached a critical mass with the 1999 publication of To Err is Human, which concluded that medical errors cause up to 98,000 deaths annually. To support this plan, a national infrastructure is being established for long-term sustainment through collaborative efforts of several Federal agencies, academic centers, and health care networks, aiming for wide-scale dissemination. Beginning with the public release of TeamSTEPPS resources in November 2006, AHRQ began its effort to disseminate TeamSTEPPS nationwide.
To date, the DoD has taught TeamSTEPPS at over 68 facilities, creating approximately 1,500 trainers/coaches, who have trained over 5,000 staff members. This article describes the evolution of the TeamSTEPPS program and its research foundation, development, and implementation. As a direct outcome of the 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, To Err is Human, TeamSTEPPS introduces tools and strategies to improve team performance in health care. TeamSTEPPS is based on 25 years of research related to teamwork, team training, and culture change.
It is designed to improve the quality, safety, and the efficiency of health care. Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS™) is a systematic approach developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to integrate teamwork into practice.