The operating of the future ensuring high quality care through enhanced neuro-critical care team communication improving medical teams & their decision making capabilities through the use of advanced telemedicine communication devices how remote telepresence devices and other technologies in neuro and other critical care settings fit the aviation safety model

The critical care, ICU or operating rooms of the future, despite the latest high tech gadgetry emerging daily, will still rely on the human element to deliver quality safe health care. As with unmanned drones, such as the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) flying the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan, still involve a human controller and the human element in decision making, so too, will the human element continue to be a factor in advanced patient care settings. This author has spoken and written often about the link between the critical care arena and aviation cockpit environments. And how the training programs and protocols developed to improve aviation safety through a reduction in human error by improving team communication, improved decision making and individual team members’ awareness of system flaws, can be directly transferred for use to the medical environment to reduce medical errors and improve patient care outcomes. The proposed brief will review the history and link between aviation and medical teams, what the communication flaws inherent to both environments are, and how advanced telecommunication devices and monitoring systems such as remote presence, fit this aviation safety model to continue to improving team communication in the critical care arena, improving decision making capabilities and patient care at a higher level than was possible before. Brief will include the author&s;s own unique experiences and perspective as a critically ill neurosurgical patient.