"We anticipate testing the effectiveness of the new guidance with volunteer facilities. Once we have evidence the new guidance is working, we will encourage and help facilities implement the new guidance," Doering added.

Lynn Gurski Leighton, vice president of Professional and Clinical Services for the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP), also participated at the press conference in support of the Authority and its patient safety initiatives to reduce wrong-site surgery. Carolyn F. Scanlon, president and chief executive officer of HAP, could not attend but gave the following statement.


"Patient safety is an integral part of every hospital's mission patient safety starts with leadership and is carried through to every person in the organization. Patient safety must be owned, valued, tested and constantly improved," said Carolyn F. Scanlon, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania.

"As partners with the Patient Safety Authority, committed to ongoing education and collaboration to reduce medical errors and create environments for learning and improving care, we support the Authority's work on the issue of wrong-site surgery. While a rare event in health care, wrong site surgery has far-reaching consequences for patients and caregivers. The Patient Safety Advisory points to multiple risk factors and system breakdowns that can occur in the complex world of medicine. And from this information, hospitals and health systems will continue to improve their protocols and practices to ensure such devastating mistakes do not occur."

In addition, the 2007 June Advisory wrong-site surgery article "Doing the "Right" Things to Correct Wrong-Site Surgery," is accompanied by a narrated PowerPoint presentation which further details the breakdown of wrong-site surgery cases in Pennsylvania. To access the PowerPoint presentation, go to www.psa.state.pa.us.

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