My lede:

Checklists have been used successfully to improve surgical safety and cut infection rates in the intensive care unit, but a study suggests that checklists are even more effective when physicians are prompted by a colleague to take action on information gathered using the quality improvement tool.

A study of 265 critical care patients at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago found that intensivists who relied on checklists alone did not reduce mortality rates. However, the death rate was cut in half when the checklist was accompanied by residents who asked the attending physicians how to act on information related to matters such as antibiotic prescribing, ventilator use and central-line placement.

Read the whole shebang.