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A study in the December 2012 edition of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons points to the effectiveness of using a surgical checklist and emphasizing teamwork during high-risk operations. This is a step away from conventional operating procedures, according to Lindsay Bliss, MD of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. “Traditionally,” says Dr. Bliss, “the surgeon is the captain of the ship. You lose out on the experience and expertise of other people in the room.” Study compares control cases, teamwork training, and checklist usage For the study, researchers looked at 2,079 control cases, 246 cases of surgical teams with team training and no checklist, and 73 cases of surgical teams with both team training and the checklist. The team training consisted of “three 60-minute sessions covering subjects such as how to use the comprehensive surgery checklist and how to communicate and work together under high pressure.” For all of these cases, 300-day morbidity figures were compared and showed an astonishing drop in “adverse event rates” for the procedures performed under the different categories. The control cases showed adverse event rates in the 23% range, the trained teams with no checklist showed a 16% average, and the trained teams using a checklist demonstrated a mere 8% adverse event rate. Checklist serves to foster communication and enhanced teamwork in the OR The best part about the checklists and training is that they’re relatively inexpensive and they help create an atmosphere of teamwork where everyone feels like he or she can speak up on behalf of the patient, rather than letting the surgeon run the show. The checklist serves as a medium of communication to be sure the patient’s needs are being met and everyone on the OR team is doing his or her job. Medical Malpractice Law News Brought To You By http://www.HaskelLaw.com Source: http://www.ama-assn....07/prsb0107.htm