ClearCount Medical Solutions, an innovator of patient safety solutions for the operating room, announced today that it is accepting registrations for a chance to win an iPad, during its “Time Out to Share” campaign. This promotion applauds the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) National Time Out Day, held June 16. During this important day for patient safety, leading healthcare organizations will recognize the importance of O.R. teams taking time out before surgery to confirm important details in order to make surgical procedures more safe.
Time Out to Share submissions can be made at http://www.clearcount.com/ between June 8 and 24. Respondents from surgical teams in hospitals need only to answer 2 easy questions about time out procedures to be entered to win an iPad through a random drawing.
Winners will be announced July 15.
“We want to hear how many hospitals have adopted the time out procedures and what suggestions for improvement or adherence to the procedures individuals may have.” said David Palmer, CEO, ClearCount Medical Solutions. “But more important to us is that the event gets the attention it deserves, given its potential to improve patient safety nationwide.”
ClearCount’s focus is key to patient safety because it addresses one of the 28 most common medical errors identified by the National Quality Forum as a “Never Event”– the retained surgical object. ClearCount is the only company to use RFID technology to prevent retained surgical sponge incidents; RFID is the only technology allowing for both the counting and detection of surgical items. One in every 1,000 to 1,500 intra-abdominal surgeries results in a sponge left behind in the patient, which can lead to dangerous infections and even death. Hospital infections add an estimated $30.5 billion to the nation’s hospital costs each year.
The ClearCount SmartSponge System, for count reconciliation and detection of surgical sponges, has received multiple awards including Popular Science’s Best of What’s New in 2009. Another complementary option, the SmartWand-DTX, is the only detection system capable of validating surgical counts. Both products are now available through Medline Industries, Inc., the nation’s largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare supplies.
