If you do a lot of regional anesthesia cases, here's a simple way to add an extra level of security to your wrong-site surgery prevention efforts. After you've properly prepared the syringes for the blocks, tape a bright yellow "time out" label over the thumb insert. You can't operate the syringes, and therefore can't administer the block, until you remove the label from this very noticeable area.
That last step of removing the label reminds us anesthesia providers to verify that we're delivering the injection to the correct body part. It's a simple but effective way to add redundancy to the process.
You can even prepare the labeling ahead of time, keeping in mind of course that syringes must be used within an hour of preparation. If you know you're doing 4 cases in the next hour, you'll fill and label 4 syringes.
Our business office staff makes us the labels using sheets of printable, adhesive address labels from the office supply store. We administer 15 to 20 eye blocks a day, so we go through a couple pages of labels every day. It's a small expense in the name of patient safety.
Eduardo D'Agostino, MD
Director of Anesthesia, Cataract and Laser Center of the North Shore, Andover, Mass.
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