Kaiser Permanente
Oakland, California, USA
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)
Background
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.