Checklists for Safer Perioperative Care

Safety checklists and cognitive aids have been called for, described, studied, and implemented across various perioperative settings. These include routine anesthesia and surgical safety checklists for use during all cases, crisis checklists and emergency manuals for use during critical events, and cognitive aids for perioperative handoffs and critical event debriefing. This chapter provides an overview of why this topic is important in perioperative medicine, a discussion of the evidence-based and important relevant references, and practical guidance for the perioperative healthcare professional.