Implementing A Surgical Safety Checklist for In-Office Procedures

There has been a notable movement in performing procedures in the office setting. With this new shift, the utilization of proven safety measures would be beneficial to mirror. The utilization of a surgical safety checklist (SSC) has become an essential part of safety measures instituted to mitigate preventable errors in the operating room (OR). This measure is equally important to institute for non-OR procedures. The purpose of this project was to implement a SSC protocol as a standard of care at a clinic that newly adopted in-office surgical procedures with anesthesia. The project focused on developing and disseminating a SSC educational program for the procedural staff that included: three surgeons, three medical assistants, and one anesthesia provider. The staff were assessed on their ability to successfully implement the SSC over a 3-month period with a goal of 90% compliance. The result of the project was that the staff exceeded the compliance goal by successfully completing the SSC on 28 of the 29 procedures performed with anesthesia, meeting a 96% compliance. Overall, the implementation was embraced and effectively incorporated into the workflow. Comments received revealed that three staff have now adopted using the SSC beyond the project and utilize it for all procedures and injections they perform, making this implementation successful.