Abstract

Despite significant advances in technology and research, the Operating Room (OR) remains one of the most opaque environments in modern society. This talk will explore the transformative power of transparency, data-driven education, and quality improvement in enhancing team performance and patient safety within the OR. Drawing on best practices from other high-risk, high-performance industries, the presentation will examine cultural barriers and opportunities for applying similar approaches in the peri-operative setting. The introduction of the OR Black Box platform and the use of Artificial Intelligence in performance analysis and surgical safety will be reviewed. Finally, the importance of shifting the safety culture in the OR to transform surgery into an ultra-safe industry will be emphasized.

Biosketch

Dr. Teodor Grantcharov completed his surgical training at the University of Copenhagen, and a doctoral degree in Medical Sciences at the University of Aarhus in Denmark.
Dr. Grantcharov is a Professor of Surgery at Stanford University and Associate Chief Quality Officer for Innovation and Safety at Stanford Healthcare.

Prior to joining Stanford, Dr. Grantcharov was a Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto and Keenan Chair in Surgery at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. He was the Founder of the International Centre for Surgical Safety – a multidisciplinary group of visionary scientists with expertise in design, human factors, computer- and data science, and healthcare research. He previously held Canada Research Chair in Simulation and Surgical Safety and was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II diamond jubilee medal for his contributions to clinical research and patient safety in Canada. Dr. Grantcharov was awarded the honorary fellowship of the Imperial College in London, the honorary fellowships of the Bulgarian, Danish and Brazilian surgical societies, the Spinoza Chair in Surgery from the University of Amsterdam and multiple national and international awards for his contributions to surgical education and surgical safety.

Dr. Grantcharov's clinical interest is the area of minimally invasive surgery, while his academic focus is in the field of surgical innovation and patient safety. He has become internationally recognized as a leader in this area with his work on curriculum design, assessment of competence and impact of surgical performance on clinical outcomes. Dr. Grantcharov developed the surgical Black Box concept, which aims to transform the safety culture in medicine and introduce modern safety management systems in the high-risk operating room environment.

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