Study: Keep doctors, nurses close for better communication

That required some logistical and cultural changes, Gordon said. For example, specialists now had to move around the hospital more frequently. But the shift cut the number of times the primary doctors were paged by 42 percent.

Doctors were nearly seven times as likely to report being contacted by a nurse in person and nearly twice as likely to report that their concerns about patient care had been addressed. About half of nurses said the residents responded quickly to their concerns, an increase from about 38 percent but with ample room for improvement, the authors said.

If doctors and nurses work more closely together, they get to know each other, Gordon said. Those bonds are important when facing a difficult patient care issue, she said.

"It's just simple relationship building," said Gordon, who was a physician at Children's during the study but is now a pursuing a master's degree in public health at Harvard University.

Gordon said the next step is to look at whether better communication leads to better care for patients. I spoke recently with Dr. John O. Pastore about a similar effort at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center aimed at reducing readmission rates by making doctors more accessible at discharge. Is your hospital creating more unit-based care teams? Tell us how it's going below.