Sure to Shock: ECRI's Defibrillator Checklists

Defibrillators are essential for responding to life-threatening cardiac episodes, and their use can make a difference in whether a patient survives or not. Failure of a defibrillator during such an event may result in the death of a patient who could have been saved.

It is possible to reduce adverse events by conducting routine visual and operational checks and documenting those actions by means of user checklists. Several of our Hazard Reports in the past few years have demonstrated the importance of these checks in detecting problems, such as hardware failures and incorrect cable connections, that could prevent or delay defibrillation therapy:

1. A34353 01: Philips—HeartStart MRx Monitor/Defibrillators: Drop...