everyone who was involved in
preparing the patient for sur-
gery to sit around a table and
discuss what happened in a
non-punitive way," says Ms.
Clairmont. "We simply want to
know how it happened, how
our process failed and how we
can fix the issue so it doesn't
happen again."
Leopoldo Rodriguez, MD,
FAAP, FASA, vice chair of the
American Society of
Anesthesiologists Committee
on Ambulatory Surgical Care,
says his home state of Florida saw a spike in wrong-site surgeries 2
years ago. Providers from professional groups who gathered at a sum-
mit called to address the problem spent a significant amount of time
discussing how to ensure surgeons operate and anesthesia providers
place blocks where they should. Dr. Rodriguez recently shared a few
recommendations he raised at the summit, including:
• In pre-op, ask the patient to confirm the intended operative site.
Make sure what the patient says matches what's noted in the surgi-
cal paperwork. If there's a discrepancy, immediately call the surgeon
to the patient's bedside to confirm the correct site.
• Also in pre-op, have the patient mark the correct site with an
"X." Then have the surgeon sign his initials — dark purple ink
shows clearly on all shades of skin, says Dr. Rodriguez — near the
X after discussing the planned surgery with the patient.
• If a nerve block is scheduled, the anesthesia provider should note
O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 7 5
• INITIAL HERE Asking patients to be actively involved in marking
the correct site adds another check to the process.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
