TeamSTEPPS for Office-Based Care: Implementation Planning

Contents

Introduction
Objectives
Shift Toward a Culture of Safety
Key Principles of Implementation
10 Steps of Implementation Planning
Describe the Targeted Office
Step 1: Create a Change Team
Step 2: Define the Opportunity
Example: Problem Definition
Step 3: Define the Aims of the Intervention
Step 4:  Design an Intervention
Step 5: Develop a Plan for Testing
Step 6. Develop an Implementation Plan
Determine How Coaches May Be Used
Step 7: Develop a Sustainment Plan
Step 8: Develop a Communications Plan
Step 9. Develop a Timeline
Change Team Meetings
Step 10: Review Your Plan
Implementation Planning Exercise

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Introduction

Say:

Welcome to the Implementation Planning Workshop. In this module you will put together all of your previous knowledge and continue thinking about how to implement TeamSTEPPS using what you have learned about its principles, change management, coaching, and measurement.

	Module Time: 60 minutes
	Materials: Implementation Workbook.

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Objectives

Say:  Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Describe the steps involved in implementing TeamSTEPPS in an office setting.
• Develop a TeamSTEPPS Implementation Plan.

The purpose of this module is to prepare you to implement TeamSTEPPS in an office setting. However, it is not a standalone piece. Much of the content in this section points to other modules such as coaching, measurement, change management, and spread and sustainability.

Even if you are attending this class alone, it is important to work on the implementation plan with other members of your change team.

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Shift Toward a Culture of Safety

Say:

A TeamSTEPPS initiative involves three continuous phases: Phase I–Assessment; Phase II–Planning, Training, & Implementation; and Phase III–Sustainment. TeamSTEPPS provides guidelines, tools, and resources for completing each phase and for gathering data needed to progress to the next phase. Keys to success at each phase include involving the right people, using information-driven decisionmaking, and carefully planning before acting.

Let’s review each phase:

Phase I: Assessment.
The goal of Phase I is for an office to determine if it is ready to undertake a TeamSTEPPS initiative. An office is ready if it has a climate conducive to change and objective information to support the need for a TeamSTEPPS intervention. A readiness assessment can be found online in the ancillary materials of the TeamSTEPPS for Office-Based Care.

Phase II: Planning, Training, and Implementation.
The goal of Phase II is for the Practice Facilitator and the Change Team to develop a detailed plan for their entire TeamSTEPPS initiative.  Then, the Change Team must follow that plan to train the necessary staff in order to implement the TeamSTEPPS intervention. Information on the creation of this change team as well as its work can be found in this module.

Phase III: Sustainment, Monitor, Coach and Integrate.
The goal of Phase III is to sustain and spread improvements in teamwork and in associated clinical processes resulting from the TeamSTEPPS initiative. Specific objectives are to integrate teamwork behaviors and tools into daily practice; monitor the ongoing effectiveness of the TeamSTEPPS intervention; identify opportunities for continued improvement; and spread positive changes throughout the organization. Coaching and measurement and evaluation take place during this phase.

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Key Principles of Implementation

Say:

The TeamSTEPPS Implementation module is based on the principle of improving patient safety and quality of care by improving health care team processes. A team process is a series of interdependent actions that lead to a desired endpoint. Examples of processes include checking in a patient, taking a patient’s vitals, and scheduling additional appointments or tests.

Improving team process includes the following steps:

• Identify a recurring problem or opportunity for improvement that, if addressed, could lead to better patient safety or quality of care. What is it specifically that you want to "fix" or improve in your office or on a specific team?
• Flowchart or map the process during which the targeted problem or opportunity for improvement occurs. Write down the process steps as they currently occur and identify who is doing what, when, and with what tools.
• Study the process to identify weak points where things could go wrong and lead to a recurrence of the target problem or opportunity. These weak points are called risk points.
• Design and implement interventions aimed at eliminating or reducing the impact of the risk points. This in turn will prevent the targeted problem from recurring, or lead to your targeted improvements.
• Test the TeamSTEPPS intervention to ensure that it did in fact eliminate or reduce the target problem, or result in your targeted improvement.
• If the test shows that the intervention was successful, monitor intervention effectiveness, sustain positive process changes, and identify opportunities for further improvement.

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10 Steps of Implementation Planning

Instructor Note:

The remainder of this module walks participants through 10 steps of TeamSTEPPS implementation planning.  The slides for each step contain the template the participants can use to record their plans.  A workbook is available on the AHRQ Web site. At this point in the program, practice facilitators have already completed the first three steps of this plan if they are viewing the third virtual presentation.

Do: Provide participants with the TeamSTEPPS Implementation Workbook. Allow time for them to fill out the templates as you proceed.

Say: Implementing TeamSTEPPS involves 10 steps. The 10 steps, which are included in the TeamSTEPPS Implementation Guide, are:

1. Create a Change Team.
2. Define the problem, challenge, or opportunity for improvement.
3. Define the aims of your TeamSTEPPS intervention.
4. Design a TeamSTEPPS intervention.
5. Develop a plan for testing the effectiveness of your TeamSTEPPS intervention.
6. Develop an implementation plan.
7. Develop a plan for sustained continuous improvement.
8. Develop a communications plan.
9. Putting it all together – Develop an implementation plan timeline.
10. Review your TeamSTEPPS Implementation Plan with key personnel, and modify according to input.

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Describe the Targeted Office

Say:

Before you begin the first step of implementation planning, think about and describe the setting in which you plan to implement TeamSTEPPS.  Identify what the practice looks like in terms of size, staff composition, and number of daily appointments. This information will be important in identifying an Action Plan that is feasible within the targeted practice.  This information may also be useful in providing your organizational leadership with an overview of your plan.

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Step 1: Create a Change Team

Say:

The objective of Step 1 is to assemble a team of leaders and staff members with the authority, expertise, credibility, and motivation needed to drive a successful TeamSTEPPS initiative.

Key actions for Step 1 include:

1. Select a multidisciplinary Change Team.
2. Ensure representation from different leadership levels, including senior leadership, practice facilitators, clinicians, and administrative support. Remember that there are unofficial leaders in each practice who may not hold traditional leadership roles.
3. Ensure at least one or more members have completed the TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer course.
4. If possible, ensure at least one member has experience in performance improvement. Relevant skills include data collection, analysis, and presentation.

Tips for success in Step 1 include:

• The Change Team will focus on improving processes within its office. Choose members with relevant clinical expertise, workplace location, credibility, and direct involvement in the processes that will be affected by the TeamSTEPPS intervention.
• Ideally, all Change Team members will attend TeamSTEPPS Master Training.
• The optimal Change Team size is five or six individuals.
• Involvement of both physicians and nurses from the practice is essential.
• In many cases the practice facilitator will be the individual with the Master Trainer designation and the experience in performance improvement.

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 Step 2: Define the Opportunity

Say:

The objective of Step 2 is to state the problem, challenge, or opportunity for improvement that will be targeted by your TeamSTEPPS intervention.

Key actions for Step 2 include:

1. Identify a problem, challenge, or opportunity that could be improved with enhanced teamwork. Strategies include:
   • Reviewing unit performance and safety data, such as incident reports, the AHRQ Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture, the TeamSTEPPS Teamwork.
   • Perceptions Questionnaire (available in this toolkit), and site-specific process and outcomes measures.
   • Reviewing reports of root cause analyses and failure modes and effects analyses.
   • Asking frontline staff, “What bad outcomes are waiting to happen because of breakdowns in the transfer of critical information?”  “What are the things that keep you up at night?”
2. Identify the process during which the problem, challenge, or opportunity occurs by stating what the process is, who is involved, and when and where it occurs.

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Example: Problem Definition

Say:

This slide provides an example of defining the problem or opportunity for improvement.  Here, we see that the Change Team would like to address suboptimal communication among office staff when ordering a test.  They have further identified the what, who, when, and where as it relates to the team process.

Tips for success in Step 2:

Change Teams may want to define three or four problems/opportunities and then select the highest priority issue for the TeamSTEPPS intervention.

Look for problems/opportunities that meet the following criteria:

• The associated process occurs frequently.
• Breakdowns in team performance could result in harm to patients.
• Process change is feasible and likely within the short term.

Discussion:

Ask one or two participants to share the problem or opportunity for improvement they plan to address. Make sure they share the what, who, when, and where as they relate to the team process.

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 Step 3: Define the Aims of the Intervention

Say:

The objective of Step 3 is to state in measurable terms what you hope to achieve with the TeamSTEPPS intervention: what will be achieved, who will be involved, and when and where the change will occur.

Key actions for Step 3 include:

Develop one to three measurable aims for your TeamSTEPPS intervention, and state in one or two sentences what you hope will be achieved, who will be involved, and when and where the improvements will occur. Aims can be based on the process of the TeamSTEPPS intervention itself or on the outcomes of that intervention.

• Team process aims focus on how well or often your staff carries out your TeamSTEPPS Intervention.
• Outcome aims focus on changes that occur because your staff carries out the intervention. These aims can be directed at changes in team performance (team outcome aims) or in clinical results (clinical outcome aims).

It is ideal (but not necessary) to have a team process aim, a team outcome aim, and a clinical outcome aim. This becomes particularly important when testing the effectiveness of your TeamSTEPPS intervention.

Tips for success in Step 3 include:

• Develop aims that specifically address the target problem identified during Step 2.
• Put time and thought into defining the problem and defining the aims of your TeamSTEPPS intervention, since they are the most important steps in Implementation Plan development. The target problem and stated aims drive the development of all remaining components of the Implementation Plan.

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Step 4: Design an Intervention

Say:

The objective of Step 4 is to design a TeamSTEPPS intervention that will address your targeted problem or challenge and achieve your stated aims.

Key actions for Step 4 include:

1. Flowchart or map the process during which the target problem/challenge/opportunity occurs.  Write down the process steps as they currently occur and identify who is doing what, when, and with what tools and where teamwork is required.
2. Identify risk points where things could or do go wrong and lead to a recurrence of the problem/challenge/opportunity.
3. Determine which TeamSTEPPS tools or strategies would work best to eliminate the process risk points.
4. Draft your TeamSTEPPS intervention. State what tools and strategies will be implemented; who will use them, when and where.
5. Evaluate your TeamSTEPPS intervention for potential benefits and negative effects:
   • Flowchart the redesigned process as you imagine it would look with your TeamSTEPPS intervention in place.
   • Identify potential failure points in the redesigned process. How will you reduce the probability and/or severity of these failures?
   • Identify potential benefits and negative effects of the redesigned process on units outside your workspace. How will you control potential negative effects?

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Step 5: Develop a Plan for Testing

Say:

The objective of Step 5 is to develop a method to determine if your TeamSTEPPS intervention achieved your aims.

Key actions for Step 5:

Ideally, you will test if your TeamSTEPPS intervention achieved each one of the aims you generated during Step 3. If time and resources are limited, select only one aim for testing. Base your selection on the importance of the aim and on the feasibility of testing it. Testing does not need to be complicated. Basic performance improvement trending and tracking methods generally suffice.

For each aim you select, create a testing method by performing the following key actions:

1. Identify who on your Change Team will be responsible for data collection, analysis, and presentation (generation of graphs and charts).
2. Identify a measure and define target ranges for that measure.
3. Measure before and after you implement TeamSTEPPS to see if the desired changes occurred.

Tips for success in Step 5 include:

• Keep it simple. Select one solid measure for each aim.
• If you use any patient data, ensure your plan adheres to all patient rights and privacy laws and regulations. Check with your governing Institutional Review Board, Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects, or other resident subject matter expert if you are unsure.
• Use existing data sources whenever possible. Determine what data your office already collects that you may be able to use.

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Step 6. Develop an Implementation Plan

Say:

The objective of Step 6 is to develop a plan for training your staff on the TeamSTEPPS tools and strategies you plan to implement and develop a plan for putting your TeamSTEPPS intervention into place.

Key actions for Step 6 include:

1. Identify your audiences and their training requirements.
2. Determine who needs to be trained on what TeamSTEPPS skills and by when.
3. Identify the instructors for each audience.
4. Develop a training plan for each audience, including:
   • Who will attend the training sessions.
   • What skills you will teach.
   • When the training sessions will occur and for how long.
   • Where the sessions will occur.
   • How you will train (method of presentation, tools, supplies).
   • Logistics such as schedules, equipment, impact of training on other operations, and additional resources required and notifying trainees and other key stakeholders.
5. Determine if any of your audiences will require refresher training. If so, repeat the above actions for refresher training.
6. Create your training timelines.
7. Include time for developing your materials and managing logistics.
8. Include initial, newcomers’, and refresher training, if needed.

A common error that is made is that individuals believe that everyone needs to become Master Trainers to understand TeamSTEPPS. This is not true. In many cases, the Fundamentals material found at the start of this toolkit will suffice. In some institutions, a dosing methodology is followed. Only the tools needed to address the problem are used.

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Determine How Coaches May Be Used

Say:

During the development of an implementation plan, it is important to consider the use of coaches to facilitate sustainment. In this section’s coaching modules, you were introduced to the role of coaching and how it can be beneficial in terms of promoting and supporting positive change within an office.

Effective coaches encompass the following traits and skills:

• Competent with their skills.
• Influential.
• Have strong interpersonal skills.
• Provide effective feedback.
• Listen actively
• And ask powerful questions.

First consider how many coaches are needed, when they will be trained, and how. Coaching models include C-FAR, the Three “I’s” and P-I-D-A. You might consider indicating these in the plan.

Discuss:

How will coaches be used in your practice? What are the roles and expectations of these coaches?

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Step 7: Develop a Sustainment Plan

Say:

The objective of Step 7 is   to develop a sustainment plan for your intervention, including plans for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of the intervention and for identification of opportunities for further improvements. Here, coaches can aid in the sustainment plan by translating knowledge into lasting behavior change.

Key actions for Step 7:

The purpose of the sustainment plan is twofold: to determine if your intervention continues to achieve your aims and to identify opportunities for further process improvement. The sustainment plan is often just a simplified version of the testing plan (Step 5), with fewer and less frequent measurements. For your sustainment plan, determine:

• Measures and target outcomes.
• Data source or sources (e.g., existing QI database).
• Methods for data collection.
• Methods for data analysis and interpretation.
• Resources required (money, time, personnel, expertise).
• Persons responsible for implementation and oversight.

Determine how data from your sustainment plan will be used to continually improve processes and performance.

Tips for success in Step 7 include:

• Integrate your TeamSTEPPS intervention into existing processes for long-term sustainment. Make it part of your office’s normal daily routines.
• Publicize your successes. Examples include visibly displaying large wall charts in your office showing positive performance trends or writing articles in local publications and medical journals.
• Spreading TeamSTEPPS to other teams in the office or within the larger organization.
• Develop standardized procedures for integrating newly acquired staff.

Step 8: Develop a Communications Plan

Say:

The objective of Step 8 is to create a communications plan targeting major stakeholders that will generate initial and ongoing support for the TeamSTEPPS initiative and promote its sustainment and spread of positive changes.

Key actions for Step 8 include:

1. Identify your stakeholders:
   • Whose support will be important for achieving the aims of your intervention and for maintaining positive changes?
   • Consider organization leaders, frontline leaders, staff directly involved in the intervention, patients, administrative staff, and others affected by the intervention.
2. For each of your identified stakeholder groups, develop a communication plan, including:
   • Goals for communication with this group. What do you want to achieve?
   • Who will receive the information?
   • What information will you communicate?
   • When and how often will you communicate?
   • How will you communicate (e.g., reports, presentations, emails)?
3. Identify a person on the Change Team who will be responsible for implementation and oversight of the communication plan.

Tips for success in Step 8 include:

• Stay focused on your goals for communication with each stakeholder group. Keep asking, "What do I hope to accomplish for the initiative (e.g., buy-in, resources, participation) by communicating with this group?"  The goals will drive the development of your communications plan.
• Consider including a communications plan in your plan for spread.

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Step 9. Develop a Timeline

Say:

The objective of Step 9 is to generate a written Implementation Plan, based on Steps 1 through 8, that will function as your “How-To Guide” for every component of your TeamSTEPPS initiative.

Key actions for Step 9:

If you completed each of the worksheets for Steps 1 through 8, you have already written your TeamSTEPPS Implementation Plan. Ensure that your final Implementation Plan includes all of the following elements:

1. Identification of the Change Team.
2. Identification of the problem, challenge, or opportunity for improvement that will be the focus of the TeamSTEPPS initiative.
3. Stated aims of the TeamSTEPPS intervention.
4. Detailed description of the TeamSTEPPS intervention.
5. A plan for testing the effectiveness of the TeamSTEPPS intervention.
6. An implementation plan for both medical team training and for the TeamSTEPPS intervention.
7. A sustainment plan for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of the TeamSTEPPS intervention.
8. A communications plan to generate support for the TeamSTEPPS initiative, to keep major stakeholders informed of progress, and to maintain and spread positive changes.
9. Timelines.
10. Resources required.

Tips for success in Step 9 include:

Save your original 10-step worksheets. They may contain information and ideas you might want later.

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Change Team Meetings

Say:

Part of your Implementation Plan timeline can include planning your change team meetings. This is a useful tool to use and distribute to change team members prior to meetings.

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 Step 10: Review Your Plan

Say:

The objective of Step 10 is to generate support and elicit ideas from major stakeholders and to identify barriers to program implementation.

Key actions for Step 10 include:

1. Identify stakeholders who could contribute significantly to the Implementation Plan. Consider organization leaders, frontline leaders, persons directly involved in the intervention, and personnel with special expertise.
2. Ask key stakeholders to review your Implementation Plan and to provide input. Specifically request that they identify any potential problem areas and offer solutions.
3. Modify your Implementation Plan based on their input, if needed.

Tips for success in Step 10 include:

You may want to ask some stakeholders to review only certain sections of the Implementation Plan. It is important to realize that the stakeholders may not all have specialized knowledge (for example, frontline staff may not have experience in quality improvement measurement).

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Implementation Planning Exercise

 Instructor Note:

If the module is being reviewed only with Practice Facilitators, the following exercise should be completed with the entire change team. Individuals should return to their change teams and make sure that they present their action plan to others as they begin the 10-step process. This will not only help the Practice Facilitators to properly vet their ideas, but will also help them become comfortable with presenting the plan to others. Eventually they will need to present this to fellow coworkers at the organization.

Say:

Now that we have outlined the Implementation Planning, break into groups to develop your Action Plan based on the processes we described. Please be ready to present and discuss your Action Plan with the larger group.

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