Thursday, January 15, 2009

Simple Checklist Can Make Surgery Safer

A Harvard School of Public Health study indicated that deaths and complications from surgery dropped by one third when operating room teams used a simple 19-step checklist. While the results of the study are certainly promising, doctors, nurses, and institutions may still be reluctant, for various reasons, to adopt the entire checklist.

As with any patient safety initiative, the authors of the study note that a strong commitment by hospital leadership is required to effect this kind of change. Check out the full text of the article in today's Boston Globe.

Can it really be this simple?

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