Tips from The Joint Commission to Reduce Noise in the Operating Room

​Noise in the operating room (OR) can decrease provider awareness and make communication less effective, which creates a risk to patient safety, according to the August 14, 2017, issue of Joint Commission Quick Safety. The most commonly cited sources of noise in the OR are irrelevant conversations, telephone calls, pagers, and music. The Joint Commission laid out several suggestions that those in the OR can take to reduce noise. One suggestion is to create a “no-interruption zone" during procedures that prohibits nonessential conversation and other noisy activities. Another suggestion is to measure noise in the OR to help develop data that can be used to determine when reduction measures should be implemented.