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O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4
IDEAS
That Work
PRE-OP PAPERWORK
A Passport to Surgery
W
e created a pre-
surgical passport
for pre-op staff giv-
ing handoff reports to OR
nurses and anesthesia
providers.
In the passport's first col-
umn, we note specific tasks
that need to be completed
before patients are brought
back for surgery: required lab tests and forms, special physician
orders and marking of the surgical site, for example.
Once tasks are complete, a member of the pre-op staff initials the corre-
sponding row in the second column. Whoever brings the patient back for
surgery can get an update of the patient's status with a quick glance at the
form. If pre-op nurses checked that the H&P was complete, the circulating
nurse and CRNA know they don't have to do the same.
We color-code similar tasks and group them together to make the
form easier to use. We included hard stops in the form's yellow and
red sections. If those tasks aren't complete — the surgeon didn't sign
the surgical site, for example — if the patient can't go back to the OR.
Hold everyone accountable by having the pre-op nurse, the circulator
and the anesthesia provider sign the form to verify that they've read and
completed it.
Shelley Smith, RN
Carolinas Healthcare System
TRUE
TO
FORM
Connie
Swarzen,
BSN,
RN,
and
Jamie
Doyle,
MD,
make
sure
the
i's
are
dotted
and
t's
are
crossed
before
bringing
a
patient
back
for
surgery.
Renee
Levine,
CRNA,
MSN
ON THE WEB
Download
a
sample
pre-surgical
passport
at
outpatientsurgery.net/resources/forms
.
Charlotte, N.C.
shelley.smith@carolinahealthcare.org
