...So Rudely Placed

Well, what do you know?  A big thanks you to a super-friend who reads the blog and passed along a recent reference to this research article entitled  "The Impact of Rudeness on Medical Team Performance: A Randomized Trial".  Or, if you don't read research articles, here is the referential article from New York Magazine.

In short, the research supports my premise from the post entitled "There's A Hole in the Sky" that aggressive behaviors between health care providers can negatively affect health outcomes.  This study, published in the September issues of Pediatrics, assessed 24 NICU teams during a simulation involving a preterm infant with a seriously deteriorating condition.  During the simulation, half of the teams were exposed to rudeness by a third party provider and half were not.  Blind judging of performance and decision making determined a 12% variance in diagnostic and procedural outcomes for those exposed to rudeness.  

Don't think that's particularly significant?  Statistically speaking it is.  In fact, that is almost 3 of the 24 cases where mistakes were made.  Now isn't that something? Especially when you imagine 3 in 24 preterm infants with rapidly deteriorating conditions being treated by teams whose communication is so impacted by this kind of mistreatment that procedures and diagnoses fail. Tragic.