Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

18 Executive Briefi ng 3 EXECUTIVE BRIEFING In addition to timeouts, safety checklists and sign-outs, Cleveland Clinic's OR teams have guidelines for routine surgical items that are burn risks like electronic scalpels. These pieces of equipment are stored in a safe, secure place to prevent burns on patients, team members and even surgical drapes. A variety of technologies help healthcare organizations achieve OR safety goals Technology plays an important part in Cleveland Clinic's OR safety efforts. The organization uses a safety event reporting system team members refer to as SERS. "SERS gives employees the opportunity to report near misses, process problems or patient events," Ms. Salamon said. "All that information goes to our quality department where they run reports and determine whether we need to investigate further with an interdisciplinary team." Within the walls of the operating room, surgical teams use an EMR module called OpTime which makes charting seamless. It's easy for OR nurses to look up information and add documentation, such as counting data, specimen information or even personnel changes. In the OR setting, Cleveland Clinic has added an adjunct technology to enable nursing teams and surgical techs to scan sponges at the beginning of a procedure, as well as at the end, before the surgeon closes the patient. This serves as a failsafe that no sponges have been left behind. "This has really made a difference in the nurses' workflow," Ms. Salamon said. "Hunting for a missing sponge can take a significant amount of time. This technology has been a huge asset for us and we've used it for many years." Health systems don't need to "go it alone" on their journey to zero harm For two decades, Stryker has been investing in caregiver safety. The company's innovative and standardized solutions for the OR, as well as its education and implementation resources, have been designed to help healthcare organizations achieve safety goals. As Ms. Salamon noted, retained surgical items like sponges are a safety concern that has endured for years. The Joint Commission launched Sentinel Event reporting in 1996, and every year, retained surgical items have been on the list of top events that cause death, permanent harm or severe temporary harm. Stryker's SurgiCount+ is an adjunct technology with a track record of zero retained surgical sponges, when implemented and used correctly. To simplify clinician workflows, SurgiCount+ supports full EMR connectivity and back-end compliance. From an environmental perspective, caregivers and patients in the operating room may also be exposed to dangerous splashes and spills, bacterial and viral particulates and airborne chemicals and pollutants. According to OSHA research, suction canisters yield a 60 percent splash incidence rate. Stryker's Neptune is unique, as the only constantly closed waste management solution on the market. It also comes standard with integrated HEPA and ULPA filters to protect the air that clinicians and patients breathe in the OR. Surgical smoke has been found to contain over 150 chemicals and 16 EPA priority pollutants. Stryker's Neptune system and the SafeAir Compact both offer ULPA filtration for standardizing open smoke evaluation. These solutions can be paired with any of Stryker's ergonomic smoke evaluation solutions. Even something as simple as the flooring in the OR can contribute to safety concerns. Studies have found slips, trips and falls account for 20 percent of healthcare worker lost time injuries. Given the talent shortages in healthcare today, hospitals and health systems can't afford to have clinicians out due to injuries. One solution is Stryker's disposable QuickWick mats which plug into the Neptune Waste Management system to keep the floor of the OR and procedural spaces dry. Conclusion There is no silver bullet for achieving zero harm in the operating room. Instead, health systems must leverage a portfolio of tools and techniques. "When everyone is educated, feels supported and knows what they need to do, that's huge," Ms. Salamon said. "Our end goal is to ensure all patients get the surgical care that they need and that both patients and caregivers are safe." n 1 Jennifer S. Pierce, Steven E. Lacey, Julia F. Lippert, Ramon Lopez, John E. Franke, "Laser-Generated Air Contaminants From Medical Laser Applications: A State-of-the-Science Review of Exposure Characterization, Health Effects, and Control, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2011, 8: 447-66; and Sara Näslund Andréasson, Haile Mahteme, Bo Sahlberg, Helena Anundi, "Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Electrocautery Smoke During Peritonectomy Procedures," Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2012, 1-6. Stryker is one of the world's leading medical technology companies and, together with our customers, we are driven to make healthcare better. We offer innovative products and services in Medical and Surgical, Neurotechnology, Orthopaedics and Spine that help improve patient and hospital outcomes.

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