title: The utility of the surgical safety checklist for wound patients.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of changes in patient care resulting from the use of a surgical safety checklist. Data were retrospectively obtained from 233 patients. The number and types of changes made to the patients' intra-operative management, based on the use of the checklist, were recorded. The number of patients whose management was modified as a result of the checklist was 113 (48%) out of 233. The total number of changes made was 132, and 18 patients had more than one modification made to their care plan. Further stratification was identified: among the 132 changes made, antibiotics were held or administered in 73 (55%), changes related to anaemia involving type and screen or transfusion occurred in 27 (20%), modifications made regarding anti-coagulation occurred in 8 (7%), beta-blockers were held in 2 (2%), an allergy was identified in 7 (5%), modifications made to the surgical procedure were 3 (2%) and a category labelled 'other' encompassed 9 (7%) changes. The surgical safety checklist is a standardised form of team communication that leads to modifications of the patient care plan in a large percentage of cases. The ever-increasing complexity of medicine means that patients are at greater risk of oversight and harm without the use of a checklist.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA. Joseph.Myers@gunet.georgetown.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Brent A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Gilmore
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Powers
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Attinger
mesh_terms: D057189:Checklist; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061214:Patient Safety; D019990:Perioperative Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Checklist; Clinical protocol; Communication; Medical errors; Safety