Pause for the cause

WakeMed in Raleigh, NC has developed an innovative way to prevent medical errors before surgery – Pause for the cause.

This mandatory patient safety checklist is completed prior to surgery to prevent wrong site surgery, make sure surgeons have the right patient, the right procedure, the right equipment and the right side of the body. “It brings the whole team together so that it’s the last check,” says Sharon McNamara, WakeMed’s director of surgical services.

The checklist includes the following procedures:* correct patient, using two identifiers
* correct procedure, according to consent
* correct physicians, according to consent
* correct sites are properly marked
* correct patient position verified
* correct special equipment, supplies or implants available
* correct information documented in patient records