Presented By: Paul Preston, M.D.
September 2018

Our best estimate is that surgical care is related to half the harm that occurs in hospitals and that half of this is preventable. Such harm will increasingly be measured and benchmarked for all hospitals. We touch upon several proven interventions that can greatly improve the safety and reduce the error rates of excellent surgical teams. Not only do these reduce harm, they are also very effective in improving efficiency and morale in the OR.

Objectives:

• Understand the frequency and nature of surgical harm – hint; this is much bigger than never events!
• Describe the critical role of briefings, debriefings and learning systems in improving OR team safety
• Understand the role of both routine and emergency checklists in the surgical environment- both potential and pitfalls
• Consider innovative ways to harness the electronic record to reduce cancellations and harm and optimize pre-op preparation