SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) is an effective and efficient way to communicate important information. SBAR offers a simple way to help standardize communication and allows parties to have common expectations related to what is to be communicated and how the communication is structured.

S=Situation (a concise statement of the problem)

B=Background (pertinent and brief information related to the situation)

A=Assessment (analysis and considerations of options — what you found/think)

R=Recommendation (action requested/recommended — what you want)

The safety attitudes questionnaire administered at Kaiser Permanente identified that physician and nurse perceptions of teamwork were significantly different. Physicians tended to view the care environment as fairly collaborative, whereas nurses saw it as much less so. To address the issue, Kaiser Permanente developed a communication tool that was adapted from the US Navy, called SBAR.

Download the tool for complete instructions.

**Please note that the file is in ZIP format, and contains multiple PDF files. Windows XP will automatically open the ZIP file; for other operating systems a tool like WinZip (or other free alternatives) should be used.