A noisy perioperative environment, particularly one in which the noise comes from mobile phones and other electronic devices, can distract surgical team members from safely carrying out clinical operations.

What's often overlooked, however, is that the gadgets can also present infection risks by contaminating sterile environments. They can even threaten patient privacy, allowing surgical personnel to communicate sensitive information within patients' hearing or photograph and transmit unguarded situations.

In order to alert surgical personnel to the risks that electronic gadgets bring to the OR, the Council on Surgical and Perioperative Safety has developed an educational chart to promote the adoption of practices and policies governing their use. The chart can be downloaded for free from the CSPS website.

CSPS, whose member organizations include the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, American College of Surgeons, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses, American Association of Surgical Physician Assistants and Association of Surgical Technologists, recommends a multidisciplinary team approach to implement these cautions and create a safer surgical environment.

"We're asking everyone to be prudent lest a bad event occur to patients and staff as a result of a distraction," says Roy Constantine, the council's treasurer.

David Bernard