AHRQ, in collaboration with the Department of Defense's (DoD) Tricare Management Activity (TMA), developed TeamSTEPPS® ("Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety") to provide an evidence-based suite of tools and strategies for teaching teamwork-based patient safety to health care professionals. In 2007, AHRQ and DoD coordinated the national implementation of the TeamSTEPPS Program. The main objective of this program is to improve patient safety by training a select group of stakeholders such as Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) personnel, High Reliability Organization (HRO) staff, and healthcare system staff in various teamwork, communication, and patient safety concepts, tools, and techniques. Ultimately, TeamSTEPPS will help to build a national and state-level infrastructure for supporting teamwork-based patient safety efforts in healthcare organizations l.
The National Implementation of TeamSTEPPS Master Training Program includes the training of "Master Trainers" in various health care systems capable of stimulating the utilization and adoption of TeamSTEPPS in their health care delivery systems, providing technical assistance and consultation on implementing TeamSTEPPS, and developing various channels of learning (e.g., user networks, various educational venues) for continuing support and improvement of teamwork in health care. AHRQ has already trained a corps of over 5000 participants to serve as the Master Trainer infrastructure supporting national adoption of TeamSTEPPS. An anticipated 2400 participants who are registering for the program will be studied in this assessment. Participants in training become Master Trainers in TeamSTEPPS and are afforded the opportunity to observe the program's tools and strategies in action. In addition to developing a corps of Master Trainers, AHRQ has also developed a series of support mechanisms for this effort including a data collection Web tool, a TeamSTEPPS call support center, and a monthly consortium to address any challenges encountered implementing TeamSTEPPS.
Participants applied to the program as teams representing their organizations and were accepted as training participants after having completed an organizational readiness assessment. Due to the differences among the types of organizations participating in the program, each participant has a different potential to apply tools and concepts within and/or beyond their home organizations.
US Code:
42 USC 299
Name of Law: Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999
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Training participant questionnaire