send emails about the case to individual providers instead of sharing
their concerns with the entire team during the pre-op huddle. "We're
trying to create a common forum for conversations that typically hap-
pen in silos or in microenvironments, so that everybody brings impor-
tant pieces of information regarding the patient to the table," says Ms.
Nolan. "We all benefit when we're on the same page, and when we
understand what each person is worried about."
Accurate counts
Surgical count boards play a vital role in preventing retained surgi-
cal items, but inconsistencies in their design can jeopardize safe
patient care. The lack of a standardized counting board was a prob-
lem among the surgical facilities of Michigan Medicine, a large
health system based
in Ann Arbor.
Inpatient sites used
paper count sheets
and ambulatory sur-
gery centers
employed white-
boards.
The opening of
Michigan Health's
Brighton (Mich.)
Center for Specialty
Care was the prime
opportunity for staff
at the new facility to
develop a standard-
ized count board for
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