Ensuring Correct Patient, Correct Site, Correct Procedure Protocol

The Australian Council for Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Council) worked with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and the States and Territories to develop a protocol for the prevention of procedures performed on the wrong patient or part of the body. This protocol was based on principles and processes that could be applied in a range of clinical areas. These principles form the basis of the specific protocols developed by the Commission for nuclear medicine, radiology, radiation oncology and oral surgery. Because these principles still apply in general, the protocol and associated resources are still provided here. However it should be noted that for surgery this protocol has been superseded by the Surgical Safety Checklist..

The Ensuring Correct Patient, Correct Site, Correct Procedure Protocol kit contains two workplace posters, two patient brochures and a Fact Sheet. These resources are available below:

• If time is money (PDF 39 KB)
• Ensuring Correct Patient, Correct Site, Correct Procedure (PDF 680 KB)
• Ensuring Correct Patient, Correct Site, Correct Procedure Fact Sheet (PDF 1170 KB)
• Patient Brochure - Understanding your procedures (PDF 677 KB)
• Patient Brochure - Understanding your surgery (PDF 182 KB)