Note from the Editor

Suddenly I find myself excited by checklists. I have been converted to the power of a checklist by surgeon Atul Gawande who teaches at Harvard Medical School and is author of the recently published book: The Checklist Manifesto. Gawande helped devise a 19-point surgical checklist for the World Health Organisation. In an operating theatre it can prevent serious complications, even save lives. Now his review one year after its implementation in all hospitals in England and Wales has found exceptional results. This confirms expectations. Before implementation, the checklist was tested in eight cities around the world involving 7688 patients. The “startling” findings showed that major complications fell from 11% to 7% and the rate of inpatient deaths following surgery fell by more than 40%, from 1.5% to 0.8% (http://news.bbc.co.uk).

As a guide to the critical steps involved in a procedure, the checklist is designed to prepare everyone for every eventuality. Here, it is used in surgery, but the concept can be applied to any project. A surgical procedure involves having a team of professionals undertake a complex task and the checklist captures 19 different elements that could be dangerous if not done. For example, it checks that antibiotics have been administered and it determines what blood loss could be anticipated to ensure sufficient blood is on hand if necessary. Gawande has bravely admitted that this latter check saved one of his patients during some particularly complicated surgery. This serves to underscore his message that even experts can benefit from checklists.

Human procedures and responsibilities are increasingly complex. The medical device industry is one that strives for precision and many of you will already use checklists in your work. Gawande’s enthusiasm and such positive results made me think that I should adopt the practice, albeit for less crucial projects. We all want to perform to the best of our ability and we all know that we cannot remember everything all of the time. But we will perhaps be able to relax that little bit more if we have an infallible checklist to rely on ...

Annie Ellerton
annie.ellerton@cancom.com