Checklist

Checklists as tools for safety have demonstrated value in complex systems and thus have been mandatory in the aviation industry. Until recently, they were missing from medicine, save the anesthesia pre-induction check-list. Now, checklists are being adopted in hospitals, yet without standardization beyond the pre-procedure time out. The inherent complexities of surgical procedures, critical and emergency care strategies, and technology are magnified exponential when combined as a system for care. Such complexity allows the possibility for alignment of component failures that can result in catas-trophic outcomes. Synchronizing all system compo-nents before “go ” helps to reduce the opportunities for serious error. As the number of surgical procedures worldwide ap