Prevention of wrong site, wrong procedure, wrong patient surgery and time-out

Abstract

While errors in surgical site or patient identification should not occur, they are some of the most common sentinel events. These events affect not only the patient but also the surgeon and hospital. The exact incidence of surgical errors cannot be measured because measurement depends on voluntary reporting. There have been many efforts to reduce these surgical errors. For example, Universal protocol and time-out just before surgery begins have been introduced. It is also essential to mark the surgical site in a uniform manner. Despite these processes,surgical errors still happen for many reasons. One of most common root causes is communication error. It is essential to use precise communication and to speak up if something is wrong. Hospitals and surgeons should use leadership to involve their teams in a patient safety culture. Not only the system but also this patient safety culture can reduce the incidence of surgical error.