w This article brought out great arguments and really made me consid-
er the other side of the story. We should continue to discuss these
issues and change the things we do that eliminate common sense.
Elaine Portannese, BSN, RN, CNOR
Long Island Hand & Orthopedic Surgery Center
Huntington, N.Y.
eportannese@lihandcenter.com
w It is the responsibility of every perioperative team member to
decrease risk to patients. We also believe the goal shared by AORN
and practitioners is to have zero surgical site infections (SSIs) and
zero never events, and to protect patients from harm. Unfortunately,
157,500 SSIs and other never events still occur in our country every
year. SSIs can't be tied to one factor, so everything must be done to
prevent them, keeping the focus on the patient and not on healthcare
professionals' personal preferences.
AORN guideline recommendations are based on a systematic review
of the evidence and meet the rigorous requirements of guideline devel-
opment by the National Guideline Clearinghouse. All available evidence is
appraised for type and quality using AORN evidence appraisal tools, which
can be seen on the AORN website (aorn.org). Recommendations are based
on the evidence, but also benefits balanced with harm to reduce risk to the
patient. Every guideline is posted for public comment for 30 days and it is
the responsibility of all perioperative team members to read them and pro-
vide comment. This is an opportunity to express concerns regarding con-
clusions and recommendations.
AORN guidelines give perioperative team members best-practice
advice based on the evidence for patient and health care worker safety.
In the article "What's the Harm?" many of the complaints about the
recommendations are due to misinformation and misunderstandings.
J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 3
