Systematic cross-checking between emergency department physicians correlated with a significant reduction in adverse events, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers conducted a cluster randomized crossover trial that included 14 adult patients per day over two 10-day periods at six EDs in France. In all, 1,680 patients were included in the study, of which 840 were in the physician cross checking group and 840 were in the control group.
For the cross checking group, emergency physicians conducted systematic cross-checking three times a day, which included a brief presentation of one physician's case to another physician, followed by the second physician's feedback to the first.
The study shows 6.4 percent of the 840 patients in the cross-check group experienced an adverse event, as compared to 10.7 percent of the 840 patients in the control group. There was also a significant reduction rate of near misses, but not of the rate of preventable serious adverse events.