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Incidents in the OR: Just How Is That Report Used?

By: 
Jennifer Morris Andrews

All surgical nurses’ notes used in modern U.S. hospitals have some section to document occurrences in surgery which happen to patients. JCAHO looks to see during their audits if such notes, among many other matters, are being documented, as well as incidents considered “sentinel events,” i.e., unexpected injuries that can include loss of limb or function. Most hospitals have processes for incident reports to be created if a patient suffers an untoward incident, including during surgery. So what is done with incident reports, other than create more paperwork?