Lessons from aviation safety: pilot monitoring, the sterile flight deck rule, and aviation-style computerised checklists in the operating room.

Commercial aviation practices including the role of the pilot monitoring, the sterile flight deck rule, and computerised checklists have direct applicability to anaesthesia care. The pilot monitoring performs specific tasks that complement the pilot flying who is directly controlling the aircraft flight path. The anaesthesia care team, with two providers, can be organised in a manner that is analogous to the two-pilot flight deck.

Development of an aviation-style computerized checklist displayed on a tablet computer for improving handoff communication in the post-anesthesia care unit.

Critical patient care information is often omitted or misunderstood during handoffs, which can lead to inefficiencies, delays, and sometimes patient harm. We implemented an aviation-style post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) handoff checklist displayed on a tablet computer to improve PACU handoff communication. We developed an aviation-style computerized checklist system for use in procedural rooms and adapted it for tablet computers to facilitate the performance of PACU handoffs.

Aviation-Style Computerized Surgical Safety Checklist Displayed on a Large Screen and Operated by the Anesthesia Provider Improves Checklist Performance.

Background: Many hospitals have implemented surgical safety checklists based on the World Health Organization surgical safety checklist, which was associated with improved outcomes. However, the execution of the checklists is frequently incomplete. We reasoned that aviation-style computerized checklist displayed onto large, centrally located screen and operated by the anesthesia provider would improve the performance of surgical safety checklist.

Simulation-based trial of surgical-crisis checklists.

Background: Operating-room crises (e.g., cardiac arrest and massive hemorrhage) are common events in large hospitals but can be rare for individual clinicians.

Crisis checklists for the operating room: development and pilot testing.

Background: Because operating room crises are rare events, failure to adhere to critical management steps is common. We sought to develop and pilot a tool to improve adherence to lifesaving measures during operating room crises.

Study Design: We identified 12 of the most frequently occurring operating room crises and corresponding evidence-based metrics of essential care for each (46 total process measures).

Perspectives in quality: designing the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist.

The World Health Organization's Patient Safety Programme created an initiative to improve the safety of surgery around the world. In order to accomplish this goal the programme team developed a checklist with items that could and, if at all possible, should be practised in all settings where surgery takes place. There is little guidance in the literature regarding methods for creating a medical checklist.