Atul Gawande wrote an article called “The Checklist” and it makes an interesting read. In it, he discusses how checklists have helped bring down the rate of infection in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) tremendously. The checklist can be as simple as a five step process. Doctors are to (1) wash their hands with soap, (2) clean the patient’s skin with chlorhexidine antiseptic, (3) put sterile drapes over the entire patient, (4) wear a sterile mask, hat, gown, and gloves, and (5) put a sterile dressing over the catheter site once the line is in. As a result of the checklist, the ten-day line-infection rate went from eleven per cent to zero!
Checklists have not really taken off in the medical sector but checklists are being used extensively in the aviation industry. Pilots use it. Aircraft engineers use it. Quality specialists use it. The list goes on. Usage of checklists ensure that errors ......
Atul Gawande wrote an article called “The Checklist” and it makes an interesting read. In it, he discusses how checklists have helped bring down the rate of infection in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) tremendously. The checklist can be as simple as a five step process. Doctors are to (1) wash their hands with soap, (2) clean the patient’s skin with chlorhexidine antiseptic, (3) put sterile drapes over the entire patient, (4) wear a sterile mask, hat, gown, and gloves, and (5) put a sterile dressing over the catheter site once the line is in. As a result of the checklist, the ten-day line-infection rate went from eleven per cent to zero!
Checklists have not really taken off in the medical sector but checklists are being used extensively in the aviation industry. Pilots use it. Aircraft engineers use it. Quality specialists use it. The list goes on. Usage of checklists ensure that errors ......
