Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Throw Away The Script - February 2019 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

Issue link: http://outpatientsurgery.uberflip.com/i/1080903

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 51 of 150

modified it," says Dr. Molina. The logistics of getting a patient into the OR will vary from one facil- ity to another — and your checklist should reflect those site-specific challenges, says Dr. Molina. For example, facilities that do a lot of cases where there's an open oxygen source and a heat source in close proximity might incorporate a fire risk assessment score into their safety checklist. Errors are going to happen in the OR, says Dr. Molina. Just as an anesthesiologist could miss a patient's allergies, a surgeon could just as easily confuse one patient for another or mark the wrong leg for surgery. The checklist gives everyone an equal opportunity to speak up. It's the difference between a mistake that's caught, and a mistake that leads to serious consequences. "Having these hard pause points leads to better care," he says. A safe takeoff Most safety breakdowns stem from poor com- munication, says Dr. Wahr. "You should always ask: 'What do I know that other people in the room don't know?'" An example: Dr. Wahr remembers treating a Jehovah's Witness who needed a hip replace- ment. As the anesthesia provider, Dr. Wahr learned her patient could not accept a blood transfusion — doing so during medical care goes against the religious group's beliefs — and she alerted the surgeon. That kind of communication makes the dif- ference between a smooth procedure and one that takes an unexpect- ed turn. "It became a part of our briefing," says Dr. Wahr. "She's a Jehovah's Witness, but with her hemoglobin volume she should be able to lose 5 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 9 Joyce Wahr, MD

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Throw Away The Script - February 2019 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine