Quality and Safety in Healthcare, Part LXXXV: Introduction to Teamwork in High Reliability Organizations.

ABSTRACT A high-reliability organization must have high-performing teams. Core teams in healthcare should include the patient and, where possible, the patient's family. Everyone on the team should understand what is expected of them in terms of expertise, leadership, communication, mutual support, and awareness of the situation. One test of the excellence of a clinical team is having high-quality handoffs of patients.