reminder cards in high-fire-risk cases and spe-
cial lab specimen time outs are just a few of
the other ideas that facility managers say
they've implemented after suggestions from
staff members.
Keep at it
Patient safety requires a deep commitment,
acknowledges Tallahassee, Fla.-based anes-
thesiologist David Shapiro, MD, CASC, former
president of the Ambulatory Surgery Center
Association. Time outs, for example, should
be mandatory, but they shouldn't be rote. "We
have worked, over time, to make it meaning-
ful and specific to the clinical needs of the
patient," he says.
And if physicians aren't encouraging all
team members to speak up when they have
concerns, it's important to keep working on
them. "This is something we frequently dis-
cuss at medical staff meetings as part of our
safety culture," says Dr. Shapiro.
You may not convert everybody, but common
sense and time are on your side. Or, as another
facility manager puts it: "Our goal is to provide
safe, appropriate patient care. We follow safety
initiatives and procedures, our nursing staff are
engaged and follow procedures, and most of
our physicians are engaged and participate in
our safety initiatives."
J U L Y 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 4 7
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