In our last post, we highlighted the dangers of surgical tools being left in patients. According to The Joint Commission, more than 800 surgical patients have had tools and other materials left in them since 2005. Because patient safety during surgical procedures is such a prominent issue, we find it prudent to highlight another important facet of the Joint Commission report.
The commission issued a warning for hospitals and surgical centers across the United States. Essentially, they must make a concerted effort to address patient safety through new technologies and improved communication.
Specifically, hospitals can use radio frequency tags and bar coding to keep track of tools and ensure that they can be accounted for after a procedure. A suction valve, for instance, can be coded and recounted after a procedure to make sure that it is returned for sanitation. If a tool is missing after a surgery, radio frequencies can be used to locate it, even if it is inside the patient.
The commission also recommended that hospitals institute policies that emphasize communication between doctors and other surgical staff so that mistakes and miscommunications can be quickly corrected.
Moreover, a culture of open communication must be fostered. It is not uncommon for nurses to witness mistakes being made and then being afraid to speak up out of fear of reprisal. It is this trepidation that can lead to a number of calamities in the operating room. While there are no statistics available indicating whether miscommunication specifically leads to objects being left inside patients, it is something that can help prevent these errors from occurring.
It remains to be seen whether hospitals will adhere to these new recommendations.
Source: ModernHealthCare.com, Joint Commission calls for hospitals to address problem of objects left in surgical patients, October 17, 2013
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