Dr. Patricia Trbovich, PhD
The operating room is the last place you want any unexpected or preventable errors. That’s what Dr. Patricia Trbovich’s work is all about. As the Badeau Family Research Chair in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement at NYGH, Patricia is taking a proactive approach to reduce or eliminate avoidable issues and improve patient care.
Leveraging audio and video collected through the Operating Room (OR) Black Box technology, Dr. Trbovich’s work dives deep into the momentary interactions between people, technology, work environments and processes that can influence safety outcomes. She and her team then develop interventions and tools to enhance patient safety further. Her comprehensive research engages with frontline staff, patients, support workers and decision-makers.
Dr. Trbovich believes what sets NYGH apart is that the work she and her colleagues do is so strongly supported and encouraged. The hospital leadership allows her team to ask questions, explore issues and ultimately, affect positive change. That support is invaluable as it lends itself to improved quality care for the community. It’s the people at NYGH, more than anything, who are pushing health care forward in new and exciting ways because the research carried out is based on real-world solutions.
In addition to her work in the OR, Dr. Trbovich is studying measures to reduce opioid misuse, improve team decision making, and evaluate bedside paediatric monitors which signal when young patients are becoming more ill, helping to improve responsiveness and outcomes.