Editorial Board Thoughts: The Checklist

Аннотация

At my home institution, Johns Hopkins, we have a renowned professor who made a keen insight several years ago. Dr. Peter Pronovost, professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine, of public health policy and management, of surgery, and of nursing, took note of the fact that many careless errors were occurring in hospital intensive care units, errors that were due not to ignorance, but to overlooking simple, mundane processes and procedures that maximize the safety of patients and increase the likelihood of positive medical outcomes. How to remedy this situation? As is often the case, the simplest solution is the most profound, the most effective, the most brilliant. Pronovost implemented straightforward checklists of processes and procedures for doctors and nurses to routinely follow in the intensive care unit (ICU).