The Role of Checklists and Human Factors for Improved Patient Safety in Plastic Surgery

After studying the article, participants should be able to: 1. Describe the role of human factors and nontechnical skills for patient safety and recognize the need for customization of surgical checklists. 2. Apply encouragement to speaking up and understand the importance of patient involvement for patient safety. 3. Recognize the potential for improvement regarding patient safety in their own environment and take a leading role in the patient safety process. 4. Assess their own safety status and develop measures to avoid unnecessary distraction in the operating room.

Over the past 20 years, there has been increased attention to improving all aspects of patient safety and, in particular, the important role of checklists and human factors. This article gives a condensed overview of selected aspects of patient safety and aims to raise the awareness of the reader and encourage further study of referenced literature, with the goal of increased knowledge and use of proven safety methods. The CME questions should help indicate where there is still potential for improvement in patient safety, namely, in the field of nontechnical skills.