This video was created to demonstrate how our cognitive aid, a crisis checklist, might be used during a case.  The patient is not real.  Please focus on how the team uses the checklists to provide better care to the patient and communicate effectively with each other.

These checklists were developed by the team at Ariadne Labs with the goal of improving care during 12 of the most common operating room crises. Multiple experts worked with our team to create these checklists over the last three years.  

Most recently these checklists were tested in a randomized control simulator trial and the results have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine Article, “A Simulation-Based Trial of Surgical Crisis Checklists”. Checklist use during operating room crises resulted in nearly a 75% reduction in failure to adhere to critical steps in management. Every team performed better when the crisis checklists were available.

The next phase of this project is to work with hospitals globally to put the checklists into place effectively.  As we move forward with this work we will be posting additional implementation materials on this website.

View these checklists in more detail and see how Brigham and Women’s Hospital modified these checklists for their operating rooms.

One of our goals is to put these checklists into place in a meaningful way globally.  This website will walk you through the process to implement them effectively.

To access more videos of OR Crisis Checklists in use, please click the link above.