procedure? Please speak up at any time during the procedure if you
believe the well-being of the patient is being jeopardized.
A safety-focused dialogue must continue throughout the case. "The
surgeon should encourage open communication by engaging nurses,
techs and anesthesia providers with case updates and specific safety
concerns as they arise," says Dr. Dellinger. "It's that constant back-
and-worth among members of the surgical team that will maintain the
dialogue established during the pre-op time out."
Check all the boxes
Surgical safety checklists can reduce the risk of errors in the OR, but
it's not enough to adopt the World Health Organization's checklist
template. You must include your surgical team on adapting the tem-
plate to the specific needs of your facility. You must also train your
surgeons and staff on how to use a checklist effectively. Dr. Dellinger
suggests you break it down into 3 segments:
• Before anesthesia induction. Include the patient in this portion of
the pre-op safety check. Verify the patient's name, the surgical site, the
procedure that's about to be performed and that the consent is com-
plete and accurate. Mark the surgical site; ask patients to confirm the
location and type of procedure they're scheduled to undergo.
• Before the incision. Have each member of the team introduce
themselves and briefly explain their role in the procedure. The sur-
geon should lead the entire team in confirming the patient's name, the
surgical site and the surgery to be performed. The surgeon should
also alert the surgical team to critical parts of the case, issues that
might arise and the procedure's expected duration. Anesthesia pro-
viders must bring up any concerns they have about the patient's con-
dition, including anticipated management of difficult airways. Nurses
and surgical techs are in charge of confirming the sterility and avail-
ability of needed equipment. Finally, the entire team must confirm
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