A P R I L 2 0 1 5 O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T 1 1
That's where the black box comes in. It provides a good opportunity to
reflect back on the individual performance of surgeons as well as our process-
es to compare it to other ORs down the hall or in other surgical facilities.
Beyond error analysis, the black box can be used to analyze adverse events or
assess new procedures, technology and techniques.
Preventing future harm
Black box technology has been a positive development in preventing human
suffering in aviation, and there's no reason the tracking of time-stamped data
can't do the same in surgery.
I've used the black box to review elements of procedures I had never experi-
enced and have turned them into teaching opportunities. There's no doubt that
even the most proficient surgeon can do the same to improve upon their skills
in order to operate as optimally and as safely as possible.
That doesn't mean that we will have perfect surgeries. But it means we will learn
from our errors, which will make us safer. We will train future surgeons better
because we can show them the most critical situations in surgery and how to avoid
them.
OSM
Dr. Grantcharov (grantcharovt@smh.ca) is an associate professor in the department of surgery at the University
of Toronto and a general surgeon at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital.
