With information on surgical checklist use in hospitals finally public on Hospital Compare, about 12 percent, or nearly 500 hospitals, can't definitively say whether certain checklists are being used. In addition, about 10 percent of hospitals, or around 370, don't require use of surgical checklists in their operating rooms, according to a report from Health Leaders Media.
CMS' new publicly reported data measures whether hospitals use a 12-point version of a surgical checklist, which includes steps prior to the administration of anesthesia, prior to skin incision and prior to incision closure and leaving the OR.
According to the Health Leaders Media report, a reporter's inquiries revealed potential oversights in some of the CMS data posting and presentation. Spokespeople for several of the hospitals identified as not using checklists indicated the data was incorrect or that their hospitals did not perform surgery, and therefore did not have any use for checklists.
Surgical checklist use has been proven to significantly reduce surgical errors, complications and deaths, though research shows checklists' effectiveness hinges on team participation and follow-through.
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