Patient Safety Checklists
Turning paper safety checks into digital workflows
Checklists prevent harm only when people actually complete them. This project moved central-line and CLABSI-style safety checks into digital workflows with QR entry points, so the right check happens at the right moment and the record exists afterwards.
Tools I used
How it started
Paper checklists were being signed after the fact. A signature after the fact protects nobody.
What actually happened
I moved checks to a QR code at the point of care so the check happens where the patient is, timestamped, on whatever phone is in the pocket. Forms, Power Apps, SharePoint and Excel did the work. The real design problem was social, not technical: make the honest path faster than the dishonest one. Short checklists, no login friction, instant confirmation. Compliance improved because compliance became the easier option.
Moments that changed the build
- Me: "Scan the QR at the bedside." → The check moved from the desk to the patient.
- Me: "No logins at the point of care." → Friction removed, completion rose.
- Me: "Timestamp everything." → Retro-signing became impossible without anyone being accused of anything.
What broke
My first checklist had eighteen items. Nobody finishes eighteen items during a shift. It became six.
What I learned
Digitising a bad checklist gives you a fast bad checklist. Fix the checklist first, then digitise it.
The ebook from this project
- Read it
The Patient Safety Checklists Story
Turning paper safety checks into digital workflows
Ebook · $9.00