The Evolution of Universal Protocol in Interventional Radiology

Knight, Floreen; Galvin, Rosemary; Davoren, Marguerite; Mason, Keira P.

doi:10.1016/j.jradnu.2006.08.003

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Volume 25, Issue 4 , Pages 106-115, December 2006

The Evolution of Universal Protocol in Interventional Radiology

Floreen Knight, RN, BSN, is a Staff Nurse, Level III and Lead Nurse in Interventional Radiology, Children's Hospital Boston, MA; Rosemary Galvin, RN, MS, CPNP, is a coordinator for the Program for Patient Safety and Quality, Children's Hospital Boston, MA; Marguerite Davoren, RN, BSN, is a Staff Nurse, Level II, in Interventional Radiology, Children's Hospital Boston, MA; Keira P. Mason, MD, is Director of Radiology Anesthesia and Senior Associate in Perioperative Anesthesia, Children's Hospital Boston and Assistant Professor of Anesthesia (Radiology), Harvard Medical School, MA

Abstract

Interventional Radiology (IR) encompasses a wide range of procedures which can pose challenges to site verification unlike those in the operating room. At Children's Hospital of Boston, an incident occurred during an IR procedure which demonstrated that the hospital-wide site verification process did not include issues specific to IR. Our facility responded to this incident by analyzing the process, identifying the complexity of the factors that may have contributed, and implementing an improved site verification process in the radiology area. This report describes our clinical experience on developing a safe and effective means of verifying procedural site and implementing Universal Protocol in IR.