Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers

Backbreaker - Outpatient Surgery Magazine - April 2019

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

Issue link: http://outpatientsurgery.uberflip.com/i/1101772

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 85 of 146

8 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A P R I L 2 0 1 9 W hen it comes to retained surgical items (RSI), you shouldn't assume anything, you should prove it. And if you don't see it, you should find it. Working in sur- gery, we all dread the possibil- ity of an RSI, whether it's a sponge, a needle or an instru- ment that's left inside the patient after a procedure. And yet we still see these mistakes happen all too frequently. RSIs usually stem from 2 factors: unreliable surgical item management practices and poor communication. When members of the OR team fail in these areas, they set themselves up to leave something behind. An RSI is not just one person's error, it's the result of a series of mistakes from the surgical team that any one person could have prevented. All that may sound scary, but it's important to remember the stakes. Here are 5 strategies to ensure a retained item is truly a never event at your facili- ty: Verna Gibbs, MD | San Francisco, Calif. 5 Keys to Preventing Retained Surgical Items Use these strategies so there's nothing left behind. • DEEP DIVE When a surgical item goes missing, you've got to look everywhere to make sure it hasn't been retained in the patient, includ- ing a search of the trash. Pamela Bevelhymer, RN, BSN, CNOR

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers - Backbreaker - Outpatient Surgery Magazine - April 2019