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6 Steps to Site Marking Success
Surgeons, staff and
patients play important
roles in preventing
wrong-site surgery.
David Bernard
Senior Associate Editor
THE RIGHT HAND
Site marking represents the patient's voice during the pre-op time out for verification.
The Institute of Medicine's landmark To Err is Human report 14 years ago called attention to the issue of preventable medical errors and sparked numerous patient safety initiatives, including the Universal Protocol and the "Sign Your Site" campaign. In spite of these site-marking safeguards, however, an estimated 40 wrong-site surgeries occur each week, according to the Joint Commission. Clearly, some site confirmation protocols fall short of fail-safe. Employ these strategies to ensure yours isn't one of them.