Researchers assessed the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist’s cost-effectiveness. Surgical checklists’ clinical usefulness was well recognized. However, only a few of them have looked into the cost-effectiveness of using lists. Data from the checklist’s only randomized controlled trial was used for an economic evaluation. The investigations were based on 3,702 processes. Costs were determined for each procedure and its associated admission, including checklist implementation costs, length and cost of hospital stay, costs of warming blanket usage, blood transfusions and antibiotics used in the operating room, and the cost of clinical time in the operating room. To simulate an empirical distribution of the mean influence of the checklist on total admission costs and the probability of observing a complication-free entrance, nonparametric bootstrapping was utilized, and quantifying sampling uncertainty around mean cost estimates. The total cost of implementing the checklist was estimated to be $900 per 100 admissions. The WHO checklist resulted in an additional 5.9 complication-free entries per 100 admissions, and a mean of 110 bed-days avoided per 100 admissions after it was implemented. Using the WHO checklist was predicted to save $55,899 for every 100 entries when all costs were considered. Investigators found the WHO list to be a cost-effective technique for enhancing surgical safety.
