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Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist Resources


  • News
    2019-2-6

    Registration now open for Ariadne-Harvard leadership training for physicians

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-11-6

    Transparency and apology after medical errors lowers financial impact on hospitals, study finds

    Delivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-11-5

    Study offers recommendations for scaling patient safety initiatives

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-9-27

    Ten years later, Surgical Safety Checklist delivers better care for millions

    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-9-14

    Upcoming Webinar Spotlights Ariadne Labs Research on Health Care Expansion

    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-6-20

    Ariadne Labs founder Atul Gawande transitions to chairman and becomes CEO of new health care organization

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-6-4

    Webinar this Week on Customizing Operating Room Emergency Checklists

    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-5-15

    Poor Communication and Teamwork from Surgeons Linked with Increased Likelihood of Malpractice Claims

    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-5-15

    Faculty Invited to Submit Applications for Ariadne Labs Spark Grant

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-5-1

    Ariadne and HSPH offer new custom course on checklist design and use for quality and safety

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-4-17

    Planning and Support Critical to Introducing Life-saving Tools in the OR

    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-4-11

    Ariadne Labs Year 5 Story

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-12-15

    Want to get great at something? Get a coach.

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-10-27

    WIHI: A New Emergency Checklist for Office-based Surgery

    Read Article at Institute for Healthcare Improvement - WIHI
    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-10-26

    Atul Gawande Keynote Address: Teamwork a foundation for improved outcomes

    Read Article at Anesthesiology 2017 Daily News
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-10-20

    Ariadne Labs launches online toolkit to help surgical teams implement OR Crisis Checklists

    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-10-18

    Checklists are boring, but death is worse

    Read Article at The Harvard Gazette
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-10-18

    How a simple health care fix can save more lives than penicillin

    Read Article at The Boston Globe
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-10-11

    Atul Gawande & Malcolm Gladwell in Conversation

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-10-1

    National patient safety leader joins Ariadne Labs as Chief Medical Officer

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-9-28

    “Is Health Care a Right?” Dr. Atul Gawande’s latest article in The New Yorker explores this question

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-8-19

    100 Most Influential People in Healthcare 2017

    Read Article at Modern Healthcare
    BetterBirthPrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-8-9

    Study tracks long-term health risks to women after having a C-section

    Delivery Decisions InitiativeSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-7-28

    Data Is Critical for Better Care, Expanded Access

    Read Article at NIH Record
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-7-27

    Toolkit to Improve Safety at Ambulatory Surgery Centers Helps to Promote High Quality Patient Care

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-7-12

    Updated OR Crisis Checklists Help Clinicians Rescue Patients from Critical Events

    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-6-22

    Analysis indicates that insurance expansion improves access to care, health, and survival

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-5-10

    HUBweek Change Maker: Atul Gawande

    Read Article at Medium
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-4-26

    Study reveals how Lifebox pulse oximeters lead to patient safety improvement

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-4-19

    A simple checklist prevents deaths after surgery, a large new study suggests

    Read Article at The Washington Post
    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-4-17

    South Carolina hospitals see major drop in post-surgical deaths with nation’s first proven statewide Surgical Safety Checklist program

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-1-16

    When Will We Grasp the Power of Incremental Care?

    Delivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-1-13

    New CEO to lead Lifebox Foundation in making global surgery safer

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-12-15

    New research identifies significant variation in health outcomes across hospitals

    BetterBirthPrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-12-14

    Go to the Wrong Hospital and You’re 3 Times More Likely to Die

    Read Article at The New York Times
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-10-14

    Watch the video: Atul Gawande leads panel with President Obama on the future of medicine

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-10-12

    Livestream: Atul Gawande Joins President Obama to discuss future of medicine and health care innovation

    BetterBirthPrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-9-16

    Atul Gawande: for the first time in human history, ineptitude is a bigger problem than ignorance

    Read Article at Vox
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-8-8

    A Better Safety Net for Young Doctors

    Read Article at The Wall Street Journal
    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-8-4

    The “Better” Bet

    Read Article at Stanford Social Innovation Review
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-7-7

    New faculty and research innovations highlighted at Year-End Health Systems Innovation Meeting

    BetterBirthPrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-5-12

    The Surgical Checklist – It Cannot Work If You Do Not Use It

    Read Article at JAMA Surgery
    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-2-3

    Surgical safety checklists associated with reduced risk of death, length of hospital stay

    Read Article at Science Daily
    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-2-3

    Surgical safety checklists: Save lives and cut length of stay

    Read Article at FierceHealthcare
    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-2-3

    Surgical Safety Checklists May Shorten Hospital Stays, Save Lives

    Read Article at US News Health
    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-1-23

    Making checklists work: South Carolina’s statewide experiment

    Read Article at Modern Healthcare
    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-1-13

    Neurosurgery at the End of Life

    Read Article at ACS Surgery News
    Serious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-1-10

    Brigham and Women’s Magazine Spotlights Ariadne Labs: Simple Solutions Spark Sweeping Changes in Medicine

    BetterBirthPrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-12-22

    What Is the Ideal Cesarean Rate?

    Read Article at The American Journal of Managed Care
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativeSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-12-22

    Interview with Neel Shah, MD, MPP

    Read Article at Science and Sensibility
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativeSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-12-22

    Too little in much of the world, too much in the US

    Read Article at The Incidental Economist
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativeSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-12-22

    Study Suggests 19 Percent Could Be Benchmark C-Section Rate

    Read Article at WBUR
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativeSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-12-22

    New study challenges decades-old guidelines on how many pregnant women should get C-sections

    Read Article at The Washington Post
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativeSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-12-22

    Sky-high C-Section Rates in the US Don’t Translate to Better Birth Outcomes

    Read Article at STAT
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativeSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-12-22

    How Many C-Sections is Too Many C-Sections?

    Read Article at Wired
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativeSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-12-14

    Doctor-architect collaboration explores whether hospital design impacts care during childbirth

    Delivery Decisions InitiativeSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-12-7

    Dr. Alex Haynes discusses what C-sections can tell us about a health system

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativeSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-12-1

    Optimal country-level C-section rate may be as high as 19 percent to save lives of mothers and infants

    Delivery Decisions InitiativeSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

  • Research
    2018-6-25

    Ten years of the Surgical Safety Checklist

    Read Article at British Journal of Surgery
    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-4-6

    The Risks to Patient Safety From Health System Expansions

    Read Article at JAMA
    Primary Health CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2018-3-27

    Factors associated with the use of cognitive aids in operating room crises: a cross-sectional study of US hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers

    Read Article at Implementation Science
    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-6-22

    Analysis indicates that insurance expansion improves access to care, health, and survival

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-4-6

    Mortality Trends After a Voluntary Checklist-based Surgical Safety Collaborative

    Read Article at Annals of Surgery
    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-7-1

    Implementation of the Surgical Safety Checklist in South Carolina Hospitals Is Associated with Improvement in Perceived Perioperative Safety

    Read Article at Journal of the American College of Surgeons
    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-6-9

    Mortality of emergency abdominal surgery in high-, middle- and low-income countries

    Read Article at British Journal of Surgery
    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-5-12

    The Surgical Checklist – It Cannot Work If You Do Not Use It

    Read Article at JAMA Surgery
    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-1-13

    Best Practices: Targeting Surgeon Communication at the End of Life

    Read Article at Annals of Surgery
    Serious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2016-1-13

    Recommendations for Best Communication Practices to Facilitate Goal-concordant Care for Seriously Ill Older Patients With Emergency Surgical Conditions

    Read Article at Annals of Surgery
    Serious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-12-2

    Relationship Between Cesarean Delivery Rate and Maternal and Neonatal Mortality

    Read Article at The Journal of the American Medical Association
    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativeSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2013-10-1

    Surgery at the end of life: a pilot study comparing decedents and survivors at a tertiary care center.

    Read Article at Anesthesiology. 2013 Oct;119(4):796-801.
    Serious Illness CareSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2013-1-17

    Simulation-Based Trial of Surgical-Crisis Checklists

    Read Article at The New England Journal of Medicine
    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2009-1-29

    A Surgical Safety Checklist to Reduce Morbidity and Mortality in a Global Population

    Read Article at The New England Journal of Medicine
    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

  • Videos
    2018-1-30

    TED: Want to get great at something? Get a coach | Atul Gawande

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-10-13

    Ariadne Labs: Five years of innovation

    BetterBirthDelivery Decisions InitiativePrimary Health CareSerious Illness CareSurgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2017-5-30

    Lab Notes: Global Surgery Day 2017 w/ Dr. Alex Haynes

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-8-21

    OR Emergency with OR Crisis Checklist

    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-8-21

    What an OR Emergency Can Sometimes Look Like – No Checklist

    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-8-20

    Introducing Safe Surgery Program

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-8-20

    How NOT to Use the Safe Surgery Checklist

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2015-8-20

    How to Use the Safe Surgery Checklist

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2012-10-12

    Diann Simms Safe Surgery Checklist Interview

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2012-9-5

    Implementing the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist in Ethiopia

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2012-5-15

    Dr. Chris Wright: The Power of the Checklist

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2012-5-1

    Dr. Atul Gawande: The Future of Safe Surgery

    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2012-4-21

    McLeod Medical Center Darlington: How Not to Perform the Checklist

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2012-4-21

    McLeod Medical Center Darlington: How to Perform the Checklist

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2012-4-13

    SRH- Safe Surgery Baby

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2011-10-24

    Lexington Medical Center: Safe Surgery Checklist

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2011-9-1

    Palmetto Health: How Not to Perform the Surgical Safety Checklist

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2011-9-1

    Palmetto Health: How to Perform the Surgical Safety Checklist

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2011-3-22

    Dr. Atul Gawande 2011 Patient Safety Symposium

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2011-2-8

    History of the South Carolina Checklist

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2009-3-28

    Exempla St. Joseph Hospital: Surgical Safety Checklist

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    2009-1-26

    Great Ormond Street Hospital: How to Use the Surgical Safety Checklist

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

  • Downloads
    & Tools

    Please access our tools and downloads by filling out our User Interest form.  If you haven't done so already, we encourage you to join the Ariadne Labs Online Community. Joining the community will give you access to our resources and allow you to join the conversation with individuals and groups using these tools around the world.

    If you are already an Ariadne Labs member, please login here to access these tools.

    If you have any questions, please contact us at community@ariadnelabs.org.

    Safe Surgery Checklist Implementation Guide

    Download16.00 MB
    Log In or Sign Up

    Ariadne Labs has developed a framework for WHO Safe Surgery Checklist implementation based on lessons learned in over 4,000 facilities globally.

    We created this implementation guide to describe that framework, identify best practices, highlight considerations for how individual facilities might apply the framework, and share practical examples from other facilities.

    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    Ariadne Labs OR Crisis Checklists (Updated 2017)

    Download412.00 kB
    Log In or Sign Up

    The OR Crisis Checklists were developed by the team at Ariadne Labs with the goal of improving care during 12 of the most common operating room crises. The checklists were updated in May 2017.

    Surgery: OR Crisis ChecklistsSurgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    Safe Surgery Checklist Template (Master)

    Download
    Log In or Sign Up

    This checklist template is designed for all three sections (Before induction of anesthesia, before skin incision, and before patient leaves the room) to be performed in the operating room. This checklist doesn’t preclude or change any of the existing routines you have in your preoperative area.

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    Ambulatory Safe Surgery Checklist Template

    Download
    Log In or Sign Up

    This checklist is designed for use in ambulatory surgery centers or for other low-risk procedures. It includes items for this type of surgery and omits items that are not applicable to the ASC environment.

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    Cardiac Surgery Checklist

    Download
    Log In or Sign Up

    This checklist is designed to be used in Cardiac Surgery. It includes additional communication checks at critical times during cardiac procedures.

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    Safe Surgery Checklist Template (Team Already Knows Each Other)

    Download
    Log In or Sign Up

    This checklist is designed to be used in facilities where the operating room teams are stable and everyone knows each other by name. Instead of introducing the team, we recommend that the surgeon activates everyone in the OR by asking each person by name, “Are ready to proceed?” prior to skin incision.

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    Safe Surgery Checklist Template (Team Briefing Before Induction)

    Download
    Log In or Sign Up

    This template is designed for use in facilities where the surgeon is always present at the time of induction. If the surgeon is present at this time, it is recommended that the team conducts the briefing prior to induction.

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    Safe Surgery Checklist Template (Two Page)

    Download
    Log In or Sign Up

    This template is ideal for organizations that wish to have the before induction of anesthesia portion of the checklist completed in the preoperative area with the anesthesia professional and nurse. This approach should only be used when the anesthesia professional and circulator are able to go to the pre-op area to review the checklist with the patient at the same time.

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    WHO Surgical Safety Checklist (Spanish)

    Download
    Log In or Sign Up

    This 19 item checklist has shown to significantly reduce both morbidity and mortality. Along with decreasing errors and adverse events, it can increase teamwork and communication in surgery.

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    WHO Surgical Safety Checklist (French)

    Download
    Log In or Sign Up

    This 19 item checklist has shown to significantly reduce both morbidity and mortality. Along with decreasing errors and adverse events, it can increase teamwork and communication in surgery.

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    A Checklist for Checklists

    Download
    Log In or Sign Up

    This tool is designed to aid the checklist creation process and ensure your checklist helps instead of hurts.

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    WHO H1N1 Checklist

    Download
    Log In or Sign Up

    This tool was developed in response to the pandemic threat by influenza A (H1N1) strain.

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

    WHO Surgical Safety Checklist (English)

    Download
    Log In or Sign Up

    This 19 item checklist has shown to significantly reduce both morbidity and mortality. Along with decreasing errors and adverse events, it can increase teamwork and communication in surgery.

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

  • Case Studies

    Physician advocates use of surgical checklists for better patient outcomes

    Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist

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  • Resources
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