Used early on in military radio transmissions, the idea of closed-loop communication was to ensure a message was received and received correctly. Common in both military and healthcare settings, closed-loop communication can be used in any setting in which it is important to:
- initiate a message
- confirm a message was received and interpreted correctly
- provide feedback or follow-up to the message
In a laboratory setting, closed-loop communication can be used for patient safety events, non-conforming events, employee engagement and satisfaction, and laboratory protocols such as calling back critical alert values and confirming patient identification.
Closed-loop communication helps to mitigate human error in relaying and receiving information.
