JCAHO Mandates Time-Out for Emergency Tracheostomy

Due to confusion from readers, please note that this is a work of satirical fiction . Washington DC August 31, 2014 - Effective September 1, 2014, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has mandated that time-outs must be performed prior to emergency tracheostomy due to any reason, no exceptions. Due to numerous incidences of "never" events and lack of consistent acquisition of consent prior to emergency tracheostomy to treat catastrophic airway…

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Wrong Site Surgery Performed by ENT

In 2010, an ENT performed a tongue tie release on a 5 years old child who was supposed to undergo a tongue lesion biopsy (apparently 1cm in size over the central dorsal tongue). Tongue tie release was NOT consented for nor discussed with the parents who expected a tongue biopsy to be performed instead. In the investigative report  performed by the Department of Public Health: "When the surgeon was asked whether he examined the patient in the preop area prior to the surgery, he stated…

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Surgical Time-Out, circa Year 2050

In the year 2050, surgical time-outs have reached a new level of safety to ensure the utmost care and risk reduction for patients. Unlike the primitive time-outs performed in the the first decade of the 21st century (2000-2012) which involved one designated individual to confirm prior to incision ( Basic9 ), the patient name, surgical site, performing surgeon, allergies, antibiotic administration, positioning, x-ray name confirmation, fire hazards, and fall risk, significant additional sa…

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