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New protocol, performance improvement course seek to reduce surgical errors
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SAN FRANCISCO — Two new ways of preventing surgical site errors and IOL errors are being introduced to ophthalmologists by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
The AAO has developed a protocol and a CME course to assist in reducing surgical site errors and errors when implanting IOLs.
"Using a consistent preoperative and operative protocol can help reduce preventable surgical errors," H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, executive vice president of the AAO, said in a press release. "While wrong site and wrong IOL errors are extremely uncommon, we wanted to take good practices and make them even better."
The protocol includes suggestions for best surgical practices and a preoperative checklist to ensure surgeons deliver the best quality in surgical care. It was designed by an AAO task force, in conjunction with the American Board of Ophthalmology, the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company, and nine subspecialty societies and organizations, the release said.
In addition to laminated copies of the protocol that have been sent to AAO members, the protocol can also be obtained from the AAO Web site at www.aao.org.
The CME activity is an online course, scheduled to be administered over several months, that will teach key factors in reducing errors. It was designed as part of the AAO's new performance improvement program from the O.N.E. Network, according to the release.
"Ophthalmologists taking the course will learn about specific performance measures to reduce wrong site/wrong IOL surgery, retrospectively assess their practice, apply these measures prospectively in their practice and re-evaluate their performance," the release said.