Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Implementing the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist: A Model for Future Perioperative Initiatives

In the fall of 2008, perioperative leaders at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Mass., conducted a two-week trial of the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist in the main OR. The checklist was incorporated by using a Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. In 2009, we began a 14-week rollout of the surgical safety checklist to all our ORs. Critical factors that led to the success of this implementation included gaining executive leadership endorsement; recruiting volunteers from each discipline to lead the project; using quality methodologies to ensure a thoughtful, organizing implementation; providing frequent feedback and data; and confirming standardized use of the checklist by creating a policy.