Dr Patchen Dellinger is a board-certified surgeon at UW Medicine. Dr Dellinger was involved in the development of the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist, which was piloted at eight hospitals around the world, including the UW Medical Centre. He subsequently worked to bring the checklist to all operating rooms in Washington.
Dr Dellinger believes the doctor must teach the patient the nature of the patient’s condition, the options available to treat it, and the potential benefits and complications of any proposed treatment. The informed patient is in the best position to be a full partner in care, which increases the probabilities of a successful outcome.
Dr Dellinger’s clinical and research interests include patient safety, general and laparoscopic surgery, gastrointestinal surgery including gallbladder disease and fistulas, difficult and recurrent hernias and surgical infectious diseases.