A new tool may help reduce the risk of wrong site surgery. While relatively rare, wrong site surgery is entirely preventable.
The Targeted Solutions Tool™ (TST), developed by the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, guides health care organizations through a step-by-step process to identify, measure and reduce risks in the processes that can contribute to a wrong site surgery.The TST helps evaluate risks across surgical systems, including scheduling, pre-operative and operating room areas.
To develop the new tool, eight U.S. hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers teamed up with the Center to identify 29 main causes of wrong site surgeries. These may occur during scheduling, pre-op/holding or in the operating room. Others may stem from the organizational culture. The TST was pilot tested by six hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers.
It worked. The new tool reduced the number of risky surgical cases by 46% in the scheduling area, 63% in pre-op and by 51% in the operating room.
Learn more about TST here.
