[Introduction of operating room checklists as a part of clinical risk management : are there hard facts on complication prevention available?].

For approximately the past 10 years the aspects of quality and risk management have spread widely not only into the realm of hospitals but also into overall general medicine, which is viewed by many physicians as a paradigmatic change. The required use of the WHO operating room (OR) checklist has in the meantime become routine procedure in many hospitals but with varying degrees of acceptance. Current data reaffirm the positive effect of the checklist in lowering complication and mortality rates. This effect can be directly traced to a higher level for safety culture in the OR.