The Checklist | Patients and Surgeons Benefit

Recently I wrote a post at Podiatry Today about the benefits of checklists. I had just listened to the audio version of The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gwande, MD and was impressed by the experiences of more successful surgery and recovery when surgical units observed a simple checklist of tasks.

The surgery ‘operates’ as a team; when there is a checklist that everyone on the team is accountable to, then fewer errors occur. Systems are changed when the checklist calls for the change, not when someone who is already over-tasked remembers.

Actually, while lives were saved through the implementation of the checklist, there is another earlier benefit to the medical staff. Knowing that everything has been accounted for relieves incredible stress and potential for distraction at any level of patient treatment.

I’ve been looking at Hoosier Foot and Ankle to develop a working checklist for us that will benefit both patients and podiatrist. Implementation can be made smoother with a plan such as those discussed in another revealing book Switch | How to Change Things when Change is Hard, written by Chip and Dan Heath. We want to make sure we offer the best in foot care at our clinic. That means using calm wisdom to bring efficient practices to the patient along with a hearty dose of compassion and consideration.

Checklists can be useful to us to deliver our services with the highest quality possible. But we know that our patients are much more to us than a ‘tick’ on a list. And that knowledge is at the top of any list we develop.