Situational awareness is the perception of the events occurring around you in a particular environment. Knowing what’s going on around you helps you make better decisions, whether you are driving a car or performing surgery. The Joint Commission made situational awareness the cornerstone of its surgical time out requirement, putting OR team members on the same page and promoting patient safety.

This eBrief discusses tools to increase situational awareness and efficiency in the ASC,  from when the patient is first scheduled for surgery through their entire perioperative journey.