Surgery: WHO Safe Surgery Checklist Resources
- News2021-1-20
2020-7-14Dr. Mary Brindle to Lead Ariadne Labs Safe Surgery/Safe Systems Program
2020-1-15Checking in on the Checklist
2020-1-15Where Surgeons Don’t Bother With Checklists
2020-1-15New Report Reflects on a Decade of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist
2020-1-13New Communication Tool Developed by Ariadne Labs and the Johnson & Johnson Office of the Chief Medical Officer Aims to Improve Surgical Safety with New Operating Room Devices
2019-10-28Study finds smartphone potential in measuring post-surgical recovery
2019-4-22What Tom Brady and Beyoncé can teach surgeons: Coaching can keep you sharp
2019-4-17Hospital deaths after surgery fell by a third following the launch of Surgical Safety Checklist in Scotland
2018-11-6Transparency and apology after medical errors lowers financial impact on hospitals, study finds
2018-11-5Study offers recommendations for scaling patient safety initiatives
2018-9-27Ten years later, Surgical Safety Checklist delivers better care for millions
2018-9-14Upcoming Webinar Spotlights Ariadne Labs Research on Health Care Expansion
2018-6-20Ariadne Labs founder Atul Gawande transitions to chairman and becomes CEO of new health care organization
2018-6-4Webinar this Week on Customizing Operating Room Emergency Checklists
2018-5-15Poor Communication and Teamwork from Surgeons Linked with Increased Likelihood of Malpractice Claims
2018-5-15Faculty Invited to Submit Applications for Ariadne Labs Spark Grant
2018-5-1Ariadne and HSPH offer new custom course on checklist design and use for quality and safety
2018-4-17Planning and Support Critical to Introducing Life-saving Tools in the OR
2018-4-11Ariadne Labs Year 5 Story
2017-12-15Want to get great at something? Get a coach.
2017-10-27WIHI: A New Emergency Checklist for Office-based Surgery
2017-10-26Atul Gawande Keynote Address: Teamwork a foundation for improved outcomes
2017-10-20Ariadne Labs launches online toolkit to help surgical teams implement OR Crisis Checklists
2017-10-18Checklists are boring, but death is worse
2017-10-18How a simple health care fix can save more lives than penicillin
2017-10-11Atul Gawande & Malcolm Gladwell in Conversation
2017-10-1National patient safety leader joins Ariadne Labs as Chief Medical Officer
2017-9-28“Is Health Care a Right?” Dr. Atul Gawande’s latest article in The New Yorker explores this question
2017-8-19100 Most Influential People in Healthcare 2017
2017-8-9Study tracks long-term health risks to women after having a C-section
2017-7-28Data Is Critical for Better Care, Expanded Access
2017-7-27Toolkit to Improve Safety at Ambulatory Surgery Centers Helps to Promote High Quality Patient Care
2017-7-12Updated OR Crisis Checklists Help Clinicians Rescue Patients from Critical Events
2017-6-22Analysis indicates that insurance expansion improves access to care, health, and survival
2017-5-10HUBweek Change Maker: Atul Gawande
2017-4-26Study reveals how Lifebox pulse oximeters lead to patient safety improvement
2017-4-19A simple checklist prevents deaths after surgery, a large new study suggests
2017-4-17South Carolina hospitals see major drop in post-surgical deaths with nation’s first proven statewide Surgical Safety Checklist program
2017-1-16When Will We Grasp the Power of Incremental Care?
2017-1-13New CEO to lead Lifebox Foundation in making global surgery safer
2016-12-15New research identifies significant variation in health outcomes across hospitals
2016-12-14Go to the Wrong Hospital and You’re 3 Times More Likely to Die
2016-10-14Watch the video: Atul Gawande leads panel with President Obama on the future of medicine
2016-10-12Livestream: Atul Gawande Joins President Obama to discuss future of medicine and health care innovation
2016-9-16Atul Gawande: for the first time in human history, ineptitude is a bigger problem than ignorance
2016-8-8A Better Safety Net for Young Doctors
2016-8-4The “Better” Bet
2016-7-7New faculty and research innovations highlighted at Year-End Health Systems Innovation Meeting
2016-5-12The Surgical Checklist – It Cannot Work If You Do Not Use It
2016-2-3Surgical safety checklists associated with reduced risk of death, length of hospital stay
2016-2-3Surgical safety checklists: Save lives and cut length of stay
2016-2-3Surgical Safety Checklists May Shorten Hospital Stays, Save Lives
2016-1-23Making checklists work: South Carolina’s statewide experiment
2016-1-13Neurosurgery at the End of Life
2016-1-10Brigham and Women’s Magazine Spotlights Ariadne Labs: Simple Solutions Spark Sweeping Changes in Medicine
2015-12-22What Is the Ideal Cesarean Rate?
2015-12-22Interview with Neel Shah, MD, MPP
2015-12-22Too little in much of the world, too much in the US
2015-12-22Study Suggests 19 Percent Could Be Benchmark C-Section Rate
2015-12-22New study challenges decades-old guidelines on how many pregnant women should get C-sections
2015-12-22Sky-high C-Section Rates in the US Don’t Translate to Better Birth Outcomes
2015-12-22How Many C-Sections is Too Many C-Sections?
2015-12-14Doctor-architect collaboration explores whether hospital design impacts care during childbirth
2015-12-7Dr. Alex Haynes discusses what C-sections can tell us about a health system
2015-12-1Optimal country-level C-section rate may be as high as 19 percent to save lives of mothers and infants
- Research2021-2-26
We Asked the Experts: The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Recommendations for Content and Implementation Adaptations
2021-2-25Development of a Novel and Scalable Simulation-based Teamwork Training Model Using Within-group Debriefing of Observed Video Simulation
2020-12-6Critical Considerations for Reopening Scheduled Surgical Care in the Setting of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Framework for Implementation
2020-9-15Smartphone-Based Assessment of Preoperative Decision Conflict and Postoperative Physical Activity Among Patients Undergoing Cancer Surgery: A Prospective Cohort Study
2020-8-18Smartphone global positioning system (GPS) data enhances recovery assessment after breast cancer surgery
2020-8-13Training novice raters to assess nontechnical skills of operating room teams
2020-8-2Approaching Surgical Triage During the COVID-19 Pandemic
2020-7-24Surgeons’ coaching techniques in the surgical coaching for operative performance enhancement (SCOPE) program
2020-7-11Surgical Coaching for Operative Performance Enhancement (SCOPE): skill ratings and impact on surgeons’ practice
2020-7-2Managing COVID-19 in Surgical Systems
2020-7-1COVID-19 – Considerations and Implications for Surgical Learners
2020-6-27The Lifebox Surgical Headlight Project: engineering, testing, and field assessment in a resource‐constrained setting
2020-5-22Non-Technical Skill Countermeasures for Pandemic Response
2020-5-1Approaching Surgical Triage During the COVID-19 Pandemic
2020-4-23Assessment of the Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) framework in the USA
2020-4-19Global Survey of Perceptions of the Surgical Safety Checklist Among Medical Students, Trainees, and Early Career Providers
2020-4-13COVID-19 Preparedness Within the Surgical, Obstetric, and Anesthetic Ecosystem in Sub-Saharan Africa
2020-2-25Performance Coaching for Practicing Surgeons: Enhancing Clinical Performance, Well-Being, and Trainee Experience
2020-2-12The eNOTSS Platform for Surgeons’ Nontechnical Skills Performance Improvement
2020-2-2The Surgical Care Providers’ Role in the Opioid Epidemic
2020-1-5Variation in global uptake of the Surgical Safety Checklist
2019-12-1Development and Feasibility Testing of a Device Briefing Tool and Training to Improve Patient Safety During Introduction of New Devices in Operating Rooms: Best Practices and Lessons Learned
2019-12-1Redefining shared decision-making in the digital era
2019-10-10Methods for scaling simulation-based teamwork training
2019-8-26Prioritizing the Patient Perspective in Oncologic Surgery
2019-8-16Identifying Naturalistic Coaching Behavior Among Practicing Surgeons in the Operating Room
2019-7-17New Open-Source Safety and Quality Discussion Guide for Affiliating Oncology Practices
2019-2-26Quality Improvement in Ambulatory Surgery Centers: A Major National Effort Aimed at Reducing Infections and Other Surgical Complications
2018-9-3WHO Surgical Safety Checklist Modification: Do Changes Emphasize Communication and Teamwork?
2018-6-25Ten years of the Surgical Safety Checklist
2018-4-6The Risks to Patient Safety From Health System Expansions
2018-3-27Factors associated with the use of cognitive aids in operating room crises: a cross-sectional study of US hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers
2017-6-22Analysis indicates that insurance expansion improves access to care, health, and survival
2017-4-6Mortality Trends After a Voluntary Checklist-based Surgical Safety Collaborative
2016-7-1Implementation of the Surgical Safety Checklist in South Carolina Hospitals Is Associated with Improvement in Perceived Perioperative Safety
2016-6-9Mortality of emergency abdominal surgery in high-, middle- and low-income countries
2016-5-12The Surgical Checklist – It Cannot Work If You Do Not Use It
2016-1-13Best Practices: Targeting Surgeon Communication at the End of Life
2016-1-13Recommendations for Best Communication Practices to Facilitate Goal-concordant Care for Seriously Ill Older Patients With Emergency Surgical Conditions
2015-12-2Relationship Between Cesarean Delivery Rate and Maternal and Neonatal Mortality
2013-10-1Surgery at the end of life: a pilot study comparing decedents and survivors at a tertiary care center.
2013-1-17Simulation-Based Trial of Surgical-Crisis Checklists
2009-1-29A Surgical Safety Checklist to Reduce Morbidity and Mortality in a Global Population
- Videos2018-1-30
TED: Want to get great at something? Get a coach | Atul Gawande
2017-10-13Ariadne Labs: Five years of innovation
2017-5-30Lab Notes: Global Surgery Day 2017 w/ Dr. Alex Haynes
2015-8-21OR Emergency with OR Crisis Checklist
2015-8-21What an OR Emergency Can Sometimes Look Like – No Checklist
2015-8-20Introducing Safe Surgery Program
2015-8-20How NOT to Use the Safe Surgery Checklist
2015-8-20How to Use the Safe Surgery Checklist
2012-10-12Diann Simms Safe Surgery Checklist Interview
2012-9-5Implementing the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist in Ethiopia
2012-5-15Dr. Chris Wright: The Power of the Checklist
2012-5-1Dr. Atul Gawande: The Future of Safe Surgery
2012-4-21McLeod Medical Center Darlington: How Not to Perform the Checklist
2012-4-21McLeod Medical Center Darlington: How to Perform the Checklist
2012-4-13SRH- Safe Surgery Baby
2011-10-24Lexington Medical Center: Safe Surgery Checklist
2011-9-1Palmetto Health: How Not to Perform the Surgical Safety Checklist
2011-9-1Palmetto Health: How to Perform the Surgical Safety Checklist
2011-3-22Dr. Atul Gawande 2011 Patient Safety Symposium
2011-2-8History of the South Carolina Checklist
2009-3-28Exempla St. Joseph Hospital: Surgical Safety Checklist
2009-1-26Great Ormond Street Hospital: How to Use the Surgical Safety Checklist
- Downloads
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Safe Surgery Checklist Implementation Guide
Download16.00 MBAriadne 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.
Ariadne Labs OR Crisis Checklists (Updated 2017)
Download412.00 kBThe 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.
Safe Surgery Checklist Template (Master)
DownloadThis 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.
Ambulatory Safe Surgery Checklist Template
DownloadThis 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.
Cardiac Surgery Checklist
DownloadThis checklist is designed to be used in Cardiac Surgery. It includes additional communication checks at critical times during cardiac procedures.
Safe Surgery Checklist Template (Team Already Knows Each Other)
DownloadThis 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.
Safe Surgery Checklist Template (Team Briefing Before Induction)
DownloadThis 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.
Safe Surgery Checklist Template (Two Page)
DownloadThis 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.
WHO Surgical Safety Checklist (Spanish)
DownloadThis 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.
WHO Surgical Safety Checklist (French)
DownloadThis 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.
A Checklist for Checklists
DownloadThis tool is designed to aid the checklist creation process and ensure your checklist helps instead of hurts.
WHO H1N1 Checklist
DownloadThis tool was developed in response to the pandemic threat by influenza A (H1N1) strain.
WHO Surgical Safety Checklist (English)
DownloadThis 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.
- Case Studies