Prevention of Surgical Errors

A surgical error is an unintentional, preventable injury that occurs during the perioperative period, is not considered a known acceptable risk of surgery, and could have been avoided by following appropriate procedure-specific training protocols. Surgical errors are a type of medical error and include retained foreign bodies, mislabeled surgical specimens, and wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-patient errors (WSPEs). An analysis of these errors over the last few decades has revealed that their causes are often multifactorial. However, miscommunication, unnecessary or emergent procedures, insufficient training, and provider burnout represent common causes of surgical error. Surgical errors can be potentially catastrophic, carry a significant financial burden, and are likely under-reported. Several organizations have developed strategies to determine why these errors occur and how to mitigate the incidence. The Joint Commission is one example of an organization that has developed a universal protocol to help monitor and decrease surgical errors. This activity reviews surgical errors and effective interprofessional team approaches to create a culture of safety that reduces surgical errors and improves patient outcomes.

Credit & MOC Details

Credit information is provided by the course provider. We recommend confirming credit eligibility with the provider or your licensing board before starting the activity.