Use of Checklists Could Help Improve Transplant Safety

Interesting article in the Boston Globe today about changes being made to the Lahey Clinic Transplant Program after a number of adverse events were noted in patients.

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2011/10/21/lahey_clinic_revamps_transplant_program_after_kidney_failures/?page=1

Obviously hard to know from the outside all of the details of the issues and the actions taken, however, some of the writeup excerpted above alludes to changes that could be addressed by a "checklist" process, such as the simplistic sketch below:

Drs. Peter Pronovost and Atul Gawande have researched and written eloquently about the use of checklists to improve safety in healthcare. Those of us on the administrative and clinical front lines need to heed their recommendations for implementing this relatively simple tool that has the potential to prevent adverse events, improve outcomes, and improve reliability of care.