Implementing A Surgical Safety Checklist for In-Office Procedures.

Area of Science:

• Medical procedures
• Patient safety
• Healthcare quality improvement

Background:

• Shift towards office-based procedures necessitates adapted safety protocols.
• Surgical safety checklists (SSC) are crucial for mitigating errors in operating rooms.
• Extending SSC use to non-OR settings is vital for patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement a surgical safety checklist (SSC) protocol as a standard of care for in-office surgical procedures.
• To develop and disseminate an educational program on SSC use for procedural staff.
• To assess the compliance rate of SSC implementation over a 3-month period.

Main Methods:

• Developed and disseminated an educational program on SSC use to surgeons, medical assistants, and anesthesia providers.
• Monitored SSC compliance for 3 months in a clinic performing in-office surgical procedures with anesthesia.
• Assessed staff's ability to implement the SSC protocol.

Main Results:

• Achieved 96% compliance, with the SSC completed in 28 out of 29 procedures performed with anesthesia.
• Exceeded the project goal of 90% compliance.
• The SSC protocol was embraced and effectively integrated into the clinical workflow.

Conclusions:

• The implementation of a surgical safety checklist (SSC) in an office setting is highly effective in improving patient safety.
• Staff demonstrated high compliance and successful integration of the SSC into their workflow.
• The SSC adoption extended beyond the project, with staff utilizing it for all procedures and injections.