Framing communication in health care action teams

ABSTRACTIt is widely believed that health care teams can improve patient care and increase safety. However, intrateam communication has often proven to be problematic in part because the different frames of team members lead to communication difficulties that become major obstacles to achieving the coordination these teams require. Frameworks become a way of interpreting and making sense of the world by establishing a common ground that facilitates communication. To be successful teams must work within a common framework such as the conventional ones represented by formal, informal, market, and professional relationships or an unique blend based on a mutual orientation toward patient outcomes.