University of California, Los Angeles, surgical time-out process: evolution, challenges, and future perspective

Abstract

Since the development of the WHO Safe Surgery Saves Lives initiative and Surgical Safety Checklist, numerous hospitals across the globe have adopted the use of a surgical checklist. The UCLA Health System developed its first extended Surgical Safety Checklist in 2008. Authors of the present paper describe how the time-out checklist used before skin incision was implemented and how it progressed to its current form. Compliance with the most recent version of the checklist has been closely monitored via documentation and observance audits. In addition, the surgical team's appreciation of the current time-out has been assessed. Cultural, practice, and human resource challenges are discussed, as are potential future avenues for innovations in the emerging field of the surgical checklist in neurosurgery.