Checklists save lives – why aren’t they used more in healthcare??

Checklists are used in many industries to make sure that multi-step procedures are done correctly and that no steps are missed. Airline mechanics use them, airline pilots use them, the military is full of them, even janitors use them to make sure they get each part of the bathroom clean. So why aren’t they used more in healthcare, when getting procedures right can literally be a life and death matter? Today’s Wall Street Journal article puts part of the blame on hospitals’ culture. If nurses and physicians were less concerned about politics they could save lives by using a simple checklist to prevent Hospital Acquired Infections.  

USP 797 deals with preventing infections as well. Do you use checklists to make sure things are done correctly? Maybe you should consider starting… how detailed are your compounding logs to make sure that each step is not missed? is everything getting cleaned the way it needs to, especially on the less-frequent weekly and monthly cleanings? automix pre-compound checklist? equipment calibration? the lists can go on and on…

Could a simple solution like a checklist make a difference for patient safety and USP 797 compliance in your cleanroom?