What is the Checklist and how was the Checklist developed?
The Checklist was developed by an expert group of surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, and patient safety experts from around the world. It identifies key safety steps during perioperative care that should be accomplished during every single operation no matter the setting or type of surgery. There were a number of guiding principles that the group had to consider when adding any safety check onto the list – simplicity, wide applicability, and measurability (that is, the ability to measure changes in the process and/or outcome of surgical care). In addition, the safety steps had to reduce the likelihood of serious, avoidable surgical harm and be unlikely to introduce unmanageable costs or additional risks to patient safety. Please view the Guideline Document, available on our website, for detailed information on each item on the checklist.
