The Joint Commission has unveiled a list of potential causes of wrong-site surgery as well as customized solutions that organizations can use to prevent such events. The list is a project of the Center for Transforming Healthcare, a collaborative quality-improvement arm of the Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based accreditation organization.

National rates of wrong-site surgeries—which include wrong procedure, wrong side and wrong patient—can reach as high as 40 incidences a week, according to a Joint Commission news release. “While wrong-site surgery is not an everyday occurrence, all facilities and physicians who perform invasive procedures are at some degree of risk,” Dr. Mark Chassin, president of the Joint Commission, said in the release.

“While wrong-site surgery is not an everyday occurrence, all facilities and physicians who perform invasive procedures are at some degree of risk,” Dr. Mark Chassin, president of the Joint Commission, said in the release.

The Center for Transforming Healthcare partnered with eight hospitals and surgery centers for the project. Those organizations used robust process improvement tools to identify problems and develop focused interventions.

For instance, a carefully standardized method of gathering patient information at the time of scheduling can reduce the likelihood of surgical errors, Chassin said during a conference call. Chassin also stressed the importance of marking the surgical site and of adhering to appropriate time-out procedures before surgries.

The eight participating sites reduced their number of defective cases—cases that could result in wrong-site surgery—from 39% to 21% in surgical booking and from 52% to 19% in the preoperative phase, according to the release.

Following pilot-testing in other organizations, the Joint Commission will make the interventions available this fall as part of the Center for Transforming Healthcare's Targeted Solutions Tool, an online tool that allows accredited organizations to identify and address barriers. The tool already includes solutions for hand hygiene and other safety issues.