Stanford Hospital’s Multidisciplinary Quality Rounds (MDQ) bring together more than 400 clinicians and staff each quarter to improve patient safety through collaborative, system-focused review. Similar to Morbidity and Mortality conferences but broader in scope, MDQs use the OR Black Box to examine selected cases and identify process improvement opportunities. Installed in 2022, the OR Black Box has been a key catalyst in strengthening a culture of safety across anesthesiology, surgery, and the interventional platform.

During the January 2026 MDQ, participants reviewed a case involving an equipment malfunction during patient transport, prompting multidisciplinary discussion and learning. The session also introduced a new initiative, No One Travels Alone (NOTA), aimed at improving the safety of patient transport to the operating room, with a pilot underway in the ICU. Past MDQs have already led to tangible changes, including the launch of an OR Hemorrhage Alert in January 2026 and the publication of a Surgical & Procedural Safety Policy in December 2025. Leaders emphasized that MDQs transform near misses into shared learning opportunities, reinforcing continuous improvement and safer care for patients.