"We're all about preparation," says Ms. Kelly. "We do everything in
advance so there are no surprises on the day of surgery."
Multi-layered patient safety checks are the benefits of all that pre-
planning. Even though Ms. Kelly's facility works off EMRs, her staff
generates paperwork that spells out the procedure, the eye to be oper-
ated on, the lens implant, the surgeon — all of which is noted on a
day-of-surgery template that's hung next to the patient in pre-op and
in the procedure room.
The consent that was signed in the surgeon's office also lies on the
patient's chest during the pre-op time out. Staff and the surgeon work
off both it and the template to confirm the correct patient, eye,
implant and procedure. It's the advanced level of confirmation that
ensures every member of the care team is informed and on the same
page, which is especially important during high-volume, repetitive
specialties where things move quickly and details can be missed.
3. Active patient warming
Active warming methods — forced-air devices, fluid warming, thermal
pads on the OR table, conductive warming blankets — go beyond
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O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | M A R C H 2 0 1 5
z ON THE SPOT Surgeons must sign
their initials at the surgical site in ink
that won't fade during skin prepping.
