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Are checklists the future of infection prevention?

Ambulatory Quality and Compliance Insider, July 1, 2009

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The adjectives “simple” or “effortless” are rarely associated with the healthcare industry or infection prevention. Procedures or initiatives that might seem easy often end up being complex and time-consuming. Even the simple act of hand hygiene has become a compliance headache for infection preventionists.
But a new wave of simplicity could be sweeping through the industry—and this one really is as easy as it sounds.
The use of checklists dates back to World War II, when pilots used them to conduct a final assessment before takeoff. Variations of those checklists are still used by pilots today. Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, FFCM, medical director of the Center for Innovation in Quality Patient Care at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, decided to translate that same preflight review for use in common medical procedures, such as inserting a central line catheter.
Checklists have begun appearing in ICUs throughout the country as part of the “ICU bundle,” a set of infection control interventions specifically for the ICU, released by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Other checklists have been used in the surgical suite to prevent surgeons from operating on the wrong area, or for patients on ventilators. Although checklists help improve compliance throughout many areas of the hospital, they have yet to become a staple in healthcare. Pronovost claims the United States has yet to fully invest in the science of healthcare.

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