Implementation and Utilization of Checklists in Surgical Patient Safety

Checklists are tools that help keep track of information and facilitate teamwork in complex scenarios which test human memory and attention. After decades of use in other industries, the patient safety movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s prompted checklists’ application to healthcare. The most prominent is the World Health Organization’s Surgical Safety Checklist, which was shown to significantly decrease mortality and complications in numerous contexts. It soon spread to operating rooms across the globe and remains standard practice. However, a checklist’s efficacy can vary across settings depending on the quality of implementation, and there is a robust body of research examining the factors underscoring successful integration into routine practice. An understanding of best practices across the entire course of checklist development, from design to implementation and beyond, will ensure that users can reap the maximal benefit.