proven its usefulness? The clinical practice, particularly in the Upon completing a number of studies supporting the impressive and significant results in lowering mortality from 1.5% to 0.8% (p = 0.003) in 8 large cities,1,2 the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed in 2008 the use of the checklist as a strategy for the prevention of perioperative adverse events. Different government institutions, public and private hospitals and healthcare systems in various countries, have promoted campaigns to use this strategy under the Safe Surgery Saves Lives policy.1 In 2010 the European Board of Anesthesiology (EBA) and the European Society of Anesthesiology signed the Helsinki Declaration on Patient Safety. Based on this initiative, Europe takes over the responsibility to work on four fundamental aspects with regard to perioperative safety: (1) the checklist, (2) the prevention of perioperative infections, (3) targeted fluids therapy and (4) perioperative nutrition.3 Consistent with this approach, during the European Congress of Anesthesiology in 2011, S.C.A.R.E. and other Latin American countries, entered into this agreement, accepting the commitment to work on these strategies. The Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology published a paper of the Hospital General de Medellin,4 analyzing the institution’s checklist from the patient’s perspective. The confirmation of the checklist implementation was done asking patients during the postoperative period about their recall of the questions from the list they were involved with. The study shows very positive data on the staff’s compliance with the list and the safety and confidence in the institution that this activity conveys. As additional measurement, a reduction