Mark the site and take time out before surgery begins
These are the required steps in the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organization’s (JCAHO) Universal Protocol for eliminating wrong-site, wrong-procedure, wrong-person surgery:
Preoperative verification process
Purpose: To ensure that all of the relevant documents and studies are available prior to the start of the procedure and that they have been reviewed and are consistent with each other and with the patient’s expectations and with the team’s understanding of the intended patient, procedure, site and, as applicable, any implants. Missing information or discrepancies must be addressed before starting the procedure.
Process: An ongoing process of information gathering and verification, beginning with the determination to do the procedure, continuing through all settings and interventions involved in the preoperative preparation of the patient, up to and including the "time out" just before the start of the procedure.
Marking the operative site
Purpose: To identify unambiguously the intended site of incision or insertion.
Process: For procedures involving right/left distinction, multiple structures (such as fingers and toes), or multiple levels (as in spinal procedures), the intended site should be marked such that the mark will be visible after the patient has been prepped and draped.
"Time out" immediately before starting the procedure
Purpose: To conduct a final verification of the correct patient, procedure, site and, as applicable, implants.
Process: Active communication among all members of the surgical/procedure team, consistently initiated by a designated member of the team, conducted in a "fail-safe" mode, i.e., the procedure is not started until any questions or concerns are resolved.
These are the required steps in the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations Universal Protocol for eliminating wrong-site, wrong-procedure, wrong-person surgery.
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