Patient Readiness for Surgery: A Quality Improvement Initiative

The use of a surgical safety checklist can help prevent sentinel events; however, a lack of adherence to the checklist can result in inadequate preoperative patient readiness and negative outcomes. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to address preoperative concerns that prevent patient readiness in a military hospital. To change practice, the project involved the use of an evidence-based practice model and Kurt Lewin's change theory. The primary investigator provided an educational initiative on the required checklist for perioperative personnel and collected data on key elements (ie, consent completion, laboratory test results, antibiotic availability, checklist completion) for 30 days after the initiative. Consent completion rates were 100% both before and after the intervention. Statistical analysis (chi-square [chi(2)]) showed significant improvement for the remaining three elements. The results were the most significant for laboratory test results (chi(2)(1) = 33.496, P < .00001).