Kaiser Permanente is advancing the cause of patient safety by using a “Preoperative Safety Briefing” similar in concept to preflight checklists used in the airline industry. A one-page checklist was developed and used for the project.
In a six-month trial project wrong site surgeries were eliminated (there had been three in the prior six month period) and positive perceptions by staff about patient safety and teamwork increased.
Read more here and here.
One might be tempted to ask “what took so long?” I suggest it is far better to say “thanks for taking steps to make operating rooms safe for patients. Please share your work with every hospital in the nation.”