Development of a checklist in risk management in thyroidectomy

Area of Science:

• Surgical safety
• Patient care quality
• Healthcare communication

Background:

• Communication failures are a leading cause of patient harm and sentinel events in healthcare.
• Checklists are recognized quality improvement tools that enhance professional communication and patient safety.
• A lack of checklists in surgical care stages contributes to communication breakdowns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop stage-specific checklists for thyroidectomy procedures.
• To improve interprofessional communication throughout the thyroidectomy care process.

Main Methods:

• A multidisciplinary team (otolaryngology, anesthesiology, endocrinology) was assembled.
• The thyroidectomy process was segmented into preoperative, operative, and postoperative stages.
• Checklists were designed by consensus after identifying potential failures and contributing factors via literature review and brainstorming.

Main Results:

• Checklist items address factors contributing to perioperative incidents, including patient-related, equipment, environmental, and organizational issues.
• Specialists are designated to verify items at each stage of the thyroidectomy process.

Conclusions:

• Checklists serve as valuable tools in thyroid surgery for monitoring factors that can lead to failures.
• Implementing checklists at various checkpoints enhances the safety and quality of the thyroidectomy care process.