Background: The preprocedure time-out is a high-profile safety measure, and compliance is coming under increasing scrutiny. A checklist-based scoring system was developed to rigorously assess compliance, and a system of video monitoring and feedback was used to track performance and improve the time-out process in pediatric interventional radiology.
Methods: A time-out "script" containing a series of observable behaviors to be performed collectively by the physician, nurse, and technologist before each interventional procedure was used to create a checklist. A procedure room equipped with an audio/video recording system allowed capture of time-outs for later review. The reviewer scored one or two time-outs each week, and the results were posted to provide feedback.
Results: The process of continual feedback and modification led to substantial improvements in time-out performance during a three-year period. Analysis of subscores revealed common failure modes that were subsequently addressed. The scoring checklist was also modified after analysis suggested redundant or unnecessary items. Gains were noted in the efficiency of the time-out protocol, which took more than 1 minute in the initial stages but soon shortened to 30-45 seconds as the team gained experience. Assessment of scoring consistency across three independent observers revealed 93% interobserver agreement and 95% intraobserver agreement. Clarification of the scoring criteria led to improved consistency (97% and 98% inter- and intraobserver agreement, respectively).
Conclusions: The combination of a time-out checklist, recorded procedures, review, and feedback produced not only improvements in time-out performance but also improvements in the scoring system and time-out process.