AORN asks hospitals to take the opportunity to recognize National Time Out Day and remind every member of the surgical team how critical it is to take time out for patient safety. Confirm correct patient, correct procedure, and correct surgical site before every invasive procedure.

Wrong-site surgery and other preventable mistakes still occur too frequently in U.S. operating rooms. That's why AORN began sponsoring National Time Out Day in 2004—in conjunction with The Joint Commission’s Universal Protocol—to raise awareness about the importance of requiring the entire surgical team to pause before all invasive procedures, and to communicate as a group in confirming key information about the patient and procedure to help prevent errors from occurring.

In recognition of this year's Time Out Day, and with the support of WHO and the Joint Commission, AORN has assembled several tools and developed new resources to help OR professionals champion the use of Time Out. 

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