Surgical Safety Improvement Activities through Surgical Count Management

 

 According to the serious patient safety accident mandatory reporting guidelines in accordance with the implementation of the Patient Safety Act on January 31^st, 2021, mandatory reporting is legislated when accidents resulting in serious physical or mental damage occur, due to residual foreign substances in the body after surgery and use of treatment different from consent. Surgical count is conducted to reduce the potential injury risk that can occur when foreign substances reside in the patient’s body, and it is a surgical nursing activity to check all items that may remain in the surgical site. Depending on the nature of the surgery, all medical staff participating in the surgery should have an interest in the items that may remain in the surgical site, and should participate actively, such as counting all items used.

Therefore, this activity was initiated to minimize potential risks by raising the interest of medical staff involved in surgical intervention and improving the participation rate in count management.