Concurrent Surgeries Save Time, But at What Price?

This practice is common and has been accepted for so long that it might be going on in your hospital, but only the surgical team knows about it.

We’re talking about concurrent surgeries. If your surgeons have two complex operations going on at the same time in different operating rooms, and they move back and forth, should patients be notified? That question is at the heart of a story in The Boston Globe about a malpractice suit that was filed by a patient at Massachusetts General Hospital who was paralyzed during spinal surgery.

Massachusetts General now limits surgeons from double-booking some complex procedures. However, it still doesn’t require surgeons to tell patients. Also, the hospital has placed several pages on its web site that explain concurrent surgery, the hospital’s policies and experience, and medical literature on its safety.

In our upcoming January issue of Healthcare Risk Management, we discuss how the issue could become a problem for hospitals and what the public reaction is likely to be. We also advise hospitals about steps they need to take now to avoid liability down the road.

Here’s one step to consider from Robin Diamond, MSN, JD, RN, senior vice president of patient safety and risk management at The Doctors Company in Napa, CA: “Is the surgeon doing the pre-op checklist and timeout on both patients? Or did the rest of the team in the second OR do it without him, and then he shows up later?” she says. “That’s a major concern for me, because it is such an important part of the safety process.”