In order to reduce potential risks during surgical procedures, the WHO developed the "Surgical Safety Checklist" for the briefing in the operating room in 2008. The active management of safety-related information by the entire surgical team led to a significant reduction in complications. Due to its proven clinical benefit, the checklist experienced widespread distribution and standardization. In practice, however, the use of this paper-based checklist poses major challenges for the surgical team: increased time efforts, insufficient integration into existing work processes, and resulting acceptance problems. At the University Hospital of Graz, a paper-based checklist was implemented step by step starting in 2013 and was further developed iteratively. This revealed acceptance problems that improved only partially over the years despite intensive training efforts. Increasing digitization in the healthcare sector creates the opportunity to offer added value for users in the form of decision-making and process support, thereby increasing acceptance.
To further reduce potential errors during surgical procedures, JOANNEUM RESEARCH HEALTH and the Steiermärkische Krankenanstaltengesellschaft (KAGes) are working on an innovative approach to process digitization. By creating relevant added value for users, the acceptance of the application, the degree of completion and patient safety are to be increased. Relevant information is made available to users in a structured manner throughout the entire perioperative process (pre-OP, intra-OP and post-OP) and the OP-check system is fully integrated into the hospital information system.
The conceptual design and development of the system is carried out in an interdisciplinary manner together with future users within the framework of a co-creation process. This includes interdisciplinary focus groups and interviews, as well as process observations and workshops. The pilot testing and clinical evaluation of the OP-check system will be carried out in 2021 at selected wards of the two KAGes sites in Deutschlandsberg and Graz.