Reducing surgical specimen errors through multidisciplinary quality improvement.
Holstine JB, Samora JB. Reducing surgical specimen errors through multidisciplinary quality improvement. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2021;47(9):563-571. doi:10.1016/j.jcjq.2021.04.003.
Errors in surgical specimen handling can cause treatment delays or missed diagnoses. This children’s hospital implemented a quality improvement effort to reduce surgical specimen errors. Using a variety of methods, including changes to specimen labeling, improved communication, and specimen time-out, they were able to decrease the mean rate of order errors and labeling-related errors.