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Measuring and Improving Safety

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Textbook of Rapid Response Systems

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Abstract

It has been a decade since the Institute of Medicine raised the call to action for patient safety in their landmark report, To Err Is Human, which brought to the public’s attention the significant problems with patient safety in our healthcare system. This call to action has been heeded by many healthcare leaders, who are actively and vigorously addressing patient safety issues. The healthcare community has worked to educate themselves on methods to improve safety, and strived to execute interventions toward the goal of improving patient safety. We still have much to do and the science of safety needs to mature rapidly to meet the needs of patients. We especially need to develop effective methods for evaluating the impact of our interventions so that we know what works and where to best invest our resources and answer the question, “Are patients safer?”

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine and Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Meyer 297 600 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21298, USA

    Bradford D. Winters

Authors
  1. Bradford D. Winters
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  2. Peter J. Pronovost
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  3. Marlene Miller
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  4. Elizabeth A. Hunt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bradford D. Winters .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Dewey Street 125, Edgewood, 15218-1407, Pennsylvania, USA

    Michael A. DeVita

  2. Liverpool Hospital, Dept. Intensive Care, University of New South Wales, Locked Bag 7103, Liverpool, 1871, New South Wales, Australia

    Ken Hillman

  3. Dept. Intensive Care, Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre, Studley Road, Heidelberg, 3084, Victoria, Australia

    Rinaldo Bellomo

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Winters, B.D., Pronovost, P.J., Miller, M., Hunt, E.A. (2011). Measuring and Improving Safety. In: DeVita, M., Hillman, K., Bellomo, R. (eds) Textbook of Rapid Response Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-92853-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-92853-1_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-92852-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-92853-1

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