Safe OR
Though there are an estimated 234 million operations performed annually worldwide, surgical complications are common and often preventable. The WHO has developed the 'Surgical Safety Checklist', in an effort to help surgical teams confirm that critical safety steps are completed before an operation proceeds.
Prompted by a recent scholarly article that shows a reduction in post-surgical death by more than 40%, this critical research has been adapted into an 'App' or software application for the Apple iPhone.
'Safe OR' is the resulting program and is designed to help surgeons, anaesthetists, OR nurses and other health care professionals reduce the risk of surgical complications and death.
With knowledge translation an important goal of medical research, QxMD Software has successfully converted cutting edge findings into an easy to use iPhone app within a week of the online publication of the results.
While the intervention is simple, remembering the 19-item checklist may be challenging for busy surgical teams. This iPhone App can be implemented immediately with minimal training.
Reference:
Haynes et al for the Safe Surgery Saves Lives Study Group
A Surgical Safety Checklist to Reduce Morbidity and Mortality in a Global Population
Published before print at www.nejm.org January 14, 2009 (10.1056/NEJMsa0810119)
Learn more about 'Safe OR' at http://www.SafeOR.org
Get the app directly from Apple iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/
Learn more about the Safe Surgery Saves Lives initiative at http://www.who.int/
iPhone, and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Inc.
QxMD Software is not affiliated with the World Health Organization (WHO) or the Safe Surgery Save Lives Challenge.
