Volume 4, No. 3 • Fall 1989

Swiss Check Lists Suggested

Hans-Gerhard Schafer, M.D.

To the Editor

While reading the December, 1988 issue of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Newsletter, I saw your offer for the APSF Clipboard. I would like to share with you our approach to an anesthetic checklist.

Mishaps and catastrophic events are mainly caused by failure to adhere to safety standards. The most vulnerable points in delivering safe anesthesia are preoperative evaluation, moving patients from anesthetic room to operating theatres and back to recovery, and relieving other anesthetists.

We have designed check procedures especially for these risk periods, and grouped them together on a DIN A4 sheet (see copy below), which is attached to the anesthetic clipboard.

We have not yet quantitated acceptance and increase in quality cam but there is the distinct impression, that our checklist helps resident and staff members maintain the required standard of care by spending less time per case, thus, leading to increased efficiency.

Hans-Gerhard Schafer, M.D. University of Basel

Basel, Switzerland