Patient safety experts are calling for penalties for doctors and nurses who don’t follow safety practices such as surgical checklists, according to an AScribe article.

Surgical teams in Australia will be using pilot-type checklists, developed by the World Health Organization, which they hope will reduce deaths and dangerous complications by one third: theage.com.au. The checklist is designed to help prevent mistakes like operating on the wrong patient or the wrong part of the body, and, to confirm patient consent. The checklist calls for the surgical team to introduce themselves to each other, ensure no items have been left inside the patient, and, review post-surgery care.

Three checklists used for Apollo 11’s descent to the moon were expected to sell for $125,000 to $175,000 at a recent auction but they failed to sell. They are signed by Buzz Aldrin. reflector.com

The Lunar and Planetary Institute’s website has a photo of an astronaut walking on the moon and using a checklist attached to the left arm of his spacesuit: lpi.usra.edu. There’s a clearer, close-up pre-flight photo at nasa.gov and a photo in which the checklist is readable at nasa.gov. There’s a nice shot of Buzz Aldrin apparently using his cuff checklist at nasa.gov. Perhaps we should try something similar on earth!

On the March 22nd CBS Sunday Morning show, Joseph Hallinan, the author of “Why We Make Mistakes,” said that the best way to avoid mistakes is to use checklists (and get enough sleep and avoid doing more than one thing at a time).

According to the February issue of Pediatrics, infant mortality rates attributable to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed have quadrupled since 1984 for unknown reasons. I’ve updated the Babies checklist with additional steps to reduce the risks of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Another convert.

A report in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that the use of a 19-step Surgical Safety Checklist reduced deaths from surgery by more than 40% in eight participating hospitals. One of the report’s authors, Atul Gawande, says that use of the checklist in all hospitals could save tens of thousands of lives and $20 billon in medical costs each year. The checklist is said to only take two minutes to complete and is based on checklists used in the aviation industry. The checklist is at Surgical Safety Checklist and the full report is at New England Journal of Medicine

From Matt Parcher: Here’s a photo of a checklist being used in space: telegraph.co.uk

I am proposing that October 30th be celebrated as Checklists Day.

It is widely accepted that the first significant aviation checklist (and the first checklist of any type that I’ve been able to find evidence of) was inspired by a tragic mishap on this day in 1935. On October 30, 1935, the Model 299 prototype for the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress crashed during takeoff at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. The cause of crash was identified as a gust lock that was still engaged. After the mishap, a group of pilots looked for a way to prevent future “pilot error” mishaps. They came up with checklists for takeoff, flight, before landing and after landing. Boeing delivered 12 of the aircraft to the Air Corps and they flew 1.8 million miles without a serious mishap.

Also, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that on October 30, 2007 a U.S. Patent was issued for a checklist system to broadcast checklist items.

(April 12, 2009: New page about Checklists Day added at Checklists Day)

I used to think that I got my passion for checklists from being a Navy pilot but after watching the video of me trying to learn how to roller skate, I think I might have been figuring out even then that there must be a better way.

We are very excited to be relaunching Checklists.com. I first launched Checklists.com over eight years ago (May 26, 2000) and I hadn’t had a chance to change the site much since then but Matt developed a strong interest in web site design a few years ago and agreed to rework the site. This redesign is very significant. Users will be able to find useful checklists very easily and everyone will have an opportunity to improve the checklists for the common good.

I believe that checklists can very significantly improve the lives of people around the world. We live in a time when life is often hectic, confusing and overwhelming. They can help you avoid early death, injuries, frustrations and disappointments, and, they can help you create, and take advantage of, opportunites for a better life. Checklists can help you take care of things so you can relax and enjoy life. They can help give you peace of mind.

We hope you will embrace this opportunity to help create a resource which compiles lessons learned and makes them very accessible to everyone in an easy-to-use format. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for improving the site’s content and/or functionality.

Explore and enjoy!