Patients prefer checklists to be completed in front of them

Editor's Note

Surgery patients overwhelmingly prefer pre-surgical safety checklists to be completed in front of them, contrary to what is thought by anesthesiologists, this Swiss study finds.

In this trial, which included 110 anesthesiologists and 125 non-premedicated ear-nose-throat or maxillofacial surgery patients, the patients overwhelmingly agreed that anesthesiologists should use checklists in front of them (median score 100), while anesthesiologists were less enthusiastic (median score 81).

Anesthesiologists rated patient discomfort (median score 43) much higher than that perceived by patients (median score 7 before and 0 after the procedure).

Anesthesiologists and patients both agreed that using checklists had the potential to reduce errors during surgery (scores 93 for anesthesiologists, 97 for patients before the procedure and 100 after).

The results of the study strengthen the collaboration of patients and healthcare professionals and provide evidence to reduce prejudices on both sides, the researchers say. This is important because adherence to checklists, though widely implemented, is still low.