Association between checklist performance and surgeon buy-in, surgical teamwork

Editor's Note

Surgeon buy-in and surgical teamwork were crucial in prompting case-related conversations but not in completing surgical safety checklists, this study finds.

Of 207 procedures observed by 10 South Carolina hospitals, few teams completed most or all surgical safety checklist items.

All measures of teamwork and surgeon buy-in related positively to completing more conversation prompts, but none related significantly to procedural checks.

The findings highlight the importance of surgeon engagement and high-quality, consistent teamwork for promoting surgical safety checklist use, the authors say.