Dentaltown March 2013 - (Page 98)

practice management feature by Captain Stephen W. Harden, BS, ATP, B-737, B-727, MD-11 and John B. Roberson, DMD M ore than 3,000 hospitals around the world have registered with the World Health Organization (WHO) to implement the use of a pre-procedure safety checklist. This is not surprising given the widely publicized data proving the use of safety checklists reduces complications, errors, infections and mortality. With documented results like these, more than 300 professional societies, health organizations, ministries and non-governmental organizations have endorsed the concept of using checklists to provide safe care. Dental practices are also taking advantage of safety checklists to make dental care safer for their patients, and more efficient, profitable and trouble-free for their offices. How? Proactive dental offices are using a detailed checklist protocol similar to the safe surgery checklist developed by the WHO – which is itself based on the checklists that professional pilots have used for years to prevent human error and accidents. The aviation checklist system has significantly reduced airline mishaps. 98 MARCH 2013 » dentaltown.com Dentists are finding that checklists work as well in their practices as they do in commercial aviation. It’s not hard to see why. Both professions rely on teamwork and attention to detail to achieve the best result. And, both have serious consequences for human error. The dental checklist system is used to failsafe personnel, equipment and data. It helps office staff to think ahead during each case and catch errors early in the processes used in dental practices. Catching human error becomes very important as one unchecked early error can snowball into a catastrophe for dental patients, especially if the practice is using conscious sedation. One error caught early not only prevents catastrophe and lawsuits, it also improves the efficiency of office operations. Thus, safety checklists are not only the right thing to do for patient safety, they are the right thing to do for a practice’s bottom line. A professor of dentistry and two practicing dentists – who are also commercial airline pilots – spearheaded the development of http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown March 2013

Dentaltown.com Highlights
Howard Speaks: Dentistry Could Come Back with a Vengeance
Professional Courtesy: I’m No Anti-Dentite
Continuing Education Update
Second Opinion: Should Endodontists Place Implants?
Needle Stick Question
Am I the Only One Who Didn’t Know How to Use My Loupes?
The Patient Blames Me for Cracking His Tooth
Corporate Profile: {KöR}
CAD/CAM Materials
Dentaltown Research: Cosmetic Dentistry
Do-it-Yourself Finance, Part IV: Savings and Investing
Product Profile: Centrix
Keep Them Coming Back
You Should Know: Likeable Dentists
Multimodality Endodontics
Endodontics for the Recent Graduate: Instrumentation
Continuing Education Porcelain Veneers: From Case Selection to Cementation
8½ Tips for Dental Safety Checklists
How Prepared Are You For a Medical Emergency?
Dental Stem Cell Preservation and the Dawning of Regenerative Oral Medicine
Product Profile: Ivoclar EvoCerem
Narrow Diameter Implant Overdentures with Locator Attachments
In This Issue: Zeroing in on Xerostomia
Perio Reports
Ad Index
Profile in Oral Health: Substances for Targeting Xerostomia
Dentally Incorrect

Dentaltown March 2013