Ideas That Work: Right Procedure Is Always in the Cards

SMART CARD Our extra step helps make sure mistakes never happen.

Right Procedure Is Always in the Cards

Here's an additional way to help make sure that "never events' never happen. The day before surgery, we write down all the pertinent information for each patient on cards, including the patient's name, the patient's eye or location of surgery, the name of the procedure and, if applicable, the pre-operative diagnosis and specimen for pathology. Then we place the card on the patient's chest before the case and refer to it during our time out. There's no added expense, because we use the cards that are included with the smart pack we run before that surgical day. They're the perfect size and shape, and we can simply recycle them instead of throwing them away.

Kathy Lutz, RN
Hazleton (Pa.) Ambulatory Surgical Center
[email protected]