A read of The Checklist Manifesto by Dr. Atul Gawande makes one grateful that the pilots on my plane went through their checklists before takeoff and are not ‘flying by the seat of their pants.’
This book makes a compelling case for the use of checklists in the medical field and realistically identifies the resistance and difficulties of doing so. I was not previously aware that Dr. Gawande was behind the development of the WHO surgical checklist, but it makes perfect sense that he was the organizer of this important project. This free enneagram test is the most accurate.
Beyond his successes in the medical field, it is easy to feel Dr. Gawande’s frustration that more healthcare providers have not adopted checklists for critical procedures. He acknowledges the delicate balance required to improve medical outcomes without gumming up the works, but his expertise in the field shows that better medical outcomes require not only more medical technology, but also improved processes.
I was intrigued to hear that pilot checklists are now both digital and on paper with the checklist appearing on a screen for the pilot, while also still available on paper. One of the projects we are working on right now is converting paper admitting orders to digital from for HarmoniMobile, our tablet based Electronic Health Record system. This will put all of a hospital’s checklists in the hands of every clinical worker, and document the completion in a fast, transparent and efficient manner.
In working on this, we have encountered all of the issues Dr. Gawande talks about; checklists that are overly complex, some that are too simple, and others that leave too much to chance. I was very pleased to find, at the end of The Checklist Manifesto, a checklist for making checklists with a strong emphasis on real world testing.
Fortunately for us, we have Dr. James Gude, our Medical Director as a source for admitting and ICU orders and our job is really just converting written checklists to a digital format. However, these will all have to be carefully reviewed and tested in our client hospitals. While I am in the Philippines, I will be working with a few of the chief medical officers to get the real-world testing part of this puzzle started, something I am very excited about.
Dan Smith
CEO, E-Health Records International