The Constant Quest for Zero - Staff & Patient Safety - October, 2015

A better way to eliminate retained surgical items. Accounting, not counting, will ensure no sponges are left behind.

Are You Warming Patients Safely? Here's what you might be doing wrong -- and how to fix it.

Best practices in drug safety. Expert advice on proper medication storage, security and labeling.

MH drills can be a real life saver. My son is alive today because the surgical team did everything right.

Your primer on plasma cutting and coagulation devices. These little 'lightsabers' let your surgeons gently slice and seal tissue.

Safety: Shhh! surgery in progress. Excessive noise distracts the OR team from patient care.

Clear cut. Are you marking the surgical site right? Our survey shows room for improvement.

6 things MH experts want you to know. The MHAUS hotline medical director answers your most pressing questions.

Don't put phones before patients. Surgical safety group promotes cautious perioperative use of electronic gadgets.

Safety: Run down fire risk before every case. Fires are preventable if the OR team is aware of the risks.

Looking to accessorize your table? Today's newest patient positioning attachments add versatility to any surface.

Medication safety pop quiz. Are you complying with best practices in medication safety?

Avoid these 5 patient positioning disasters. From pressure ulcers to vision loss, don't let positioning problems happen on your watch.

A black box in every OR. Surgery can take a lesson from aviation, says the surgeon who invented a device that records every step of surgery.

6 patient safety enhancers. Give your staff the tools they need to prevent harm.

Safety: Enhance your fire safety protocols. Address specific ignition risks during pre-op time outs.

Surgeons' Lounge: Relative humidity levels. Dangers of letting OR humidity dip below 30%

Simulated saline puts patients at risk. A training product somehow ended up on supply shelves?

Surgeons' Lounge: Calling a cab. Would You Let a Patient Take a Taxi Home Alone?