What’s New in the Patient Safety World
August 2013
AORN’s Top 10 Patient Safety Issues
AORN (the Association for periOperative Registered Nurses) has provided many important patient safety resources over the years. Now, through a survey of its membership, AORN has developed a list of the top 10 patient safety issues (Steelman 2013). Their top 10 are:
1. Preventing wrong site/procedure/patient surgery
2. Preventing retained surgical items
3. Preventing medication errors
4. Preventing failures in instrument reprocessing
5. Preventing pressure injuries
6. Preventing specimen management errors
7. Preventing surgical fires
8. Preventing perioperative hypothermia
9. Preventing burns from energy devices
10. Responding to difficult intubation or airway emergencies
Each of the topics comes with a brief summary of the issue at hand and recommendations for what more can be done. Their recommendations are both evidence-based and practical. The sections on preventing instrument reprocessing failures, preventing burns from energy devices, and preventing specimen management errors are particularly informative.
If you are at all involved in perioperative management of patients this is an outstanding resource that you will find very useful.
References:
Steelman VM, Graling PR. Top 10 Patient Safety Issues: What More Can We Do? AORN Journal 2013; 97(6): 679-701
http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0001-2092/PIIS0001209213004079.pdf
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