2 6 S U P P L E M E N T T O 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 C T O B E R 2 0 1 5
information freely as a team.
Whenever someone speaks up about
something that doesn't look right, the
physician should celebrate the shar-
ing of information, even if he
believes the information is wrong.
Remind surgeons that by welcoming
more input from everyone, the team
as a whole becomes safer.
The second is that wise decision-
making teams build in pause points.
Stress to surgeons the importance of
using the time out as a pause point
that's beneficial to both the team and
the patient. For example, instead of the
robotic answer of, "We're operating on
the left breast," the surgical team
should take a moment to think "Are we
sure this is correct?"
It takes time, but surgeons are driv-
en by data and evidence. By showing
your physicians that adopting these 2
attributes will help them get the best
outcomes possible for patients, they'll
be much more likely to lead the
charge.
OSM
Dr. Pronovost (ppronovo@jhmi.edu) is the sen-
ior vice president for patient safety and quality
and director of the Armstrong Institute for
Patient Safety and Quality at Johns Hopkins
Medicine. He is also a professor at the Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine and at
the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
