Key Points
-
Errors in medical care leading to patient injury and/or death are common in today’s healthcare system, and there is a growing “patient safety movement” across various disciplines to reduce preventable patient harm.
-
There are tangible ways for busy clinicians to get the knowledge base and skills needed to participate in high-level patient safety efforts.
-
There is a demand for clinicians who have a desire to be involved with patient safety. Such involvement can range from adding additional elements to one’s medical profession to transitioning toward a full-time career in the field.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Gawande A. Better: a surgeon’s note on performance. New York: Metropolitan Books; 2007.
Annotated Selection of Landmark Works in the Field of Patient Safety
Leape LL. Error in medicine. J Am Med Assoc. 1994; 272(23):1851–57. [A landmark review article in patient safety, this publication provides an overview of the causes of errors in healthcare, and draws from lessons learned from literature on human cognition and other high-risk fields outside of medicine. It also provides suggestions on how to create safer healthcare systems].
Pierce EC. The 34th Rovenstine Lecture: 40 years behind the mask – safety revisited. Anesthesiology. 1996;84:965–75. [An excellent review of the history of patient safety in anesthesia, a field that has made substantial progress over the past decades in reducing adverse events].
Cooper JB, Newbower RS, Long CD, et al. Preventable anesthesia mishaps: a study of human factors. Anesthesiology. 1978;49:399–406. [A transformational publication in the study of errors in the provision of anesthetic care. The authors used a critical incident analysis approach to understand the distribution and etiologies of adverse events in anesthesia].
Vincent, C. Patient safety. London: Elseiver; 2010. [A succinct and easy read written by an international expert in the field of patient safety. A great source of information for any healthcare professional].
Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, editors. To err is human: building a safer health system. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1999. [This influential and shaping report, which is available for free at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/1999/To-Err-is-Human-Building-A-Safer-Health-System.aspx, provides a comprehensive summary of types and etiologies of errors in medicine, as well as calls to action and suggestions for improvement].
Brennan TA, Leape LL, Laird NM, et al. Incidence of adverse events and negligence in hospitalized patients: results from the Harvard Medical Practice Study I. N Engl J Med. 1991;324:370–6.
Leape LL, Brennan TA, Laird N, et al. The nature of adverse events in hospitalized patients: results of the Harvard Medical Practice Study II. N Eng J Med. 1991;324:377–84. [This two-part series in the New Engl J Med. describes the Harvard Medical Practice Study, a key set of investigations into the incidence and nature of adverse events in hospitalized patients].
Bates DW, Cullen DJ, Laird NM, et al. Incidence of adverse drug events and potential adverse drug events. Implications for prevention. ADE Prevention Study Group. J Am Med Assoc. 1995;274(1):29–34. [This study investigates the incidence and preventability of adverse drug events, one of the most common causes of errors in healthcare. These investigators/study group have also authored several subsequent key studies on this topic].
Gawande A. Complications: a surgeon’s note on an imperfect science. New York: Picador; 2002.
Gawande A. Better: a surgeon’s note on performance. New York: Metropolitan Books; 2007.
Gwande A. The Checklist Manifesto: How to get things right. New York: Metropolitan Books; 2009. [This trilogy of books by surgeon and writer Dr. Atul Gawande tells the story of many of the successes and pitfalls in medicine, including an account of some notable initiatives in patient safety. An entertaining and informative read].
Haynes AB, Weiser TG, Berry WR, et al. A surgical safety checklist to reduce morbidity and mortality in a global population. N Engl J Med 2009;360:491–9. [International patient safety effort to implement a surgical safety checklist to reduce morbidity and mortality in a global population. The Safe Surgery Saves Lives checklist is currently used in thousands of hospitals around the world].
Jha AK, DesRoches CM, Campbell EG, et al. Use of electronic health records in U.S. hospitals. N Engl J Med 2009;348:651–6. [This recent study reviews the adoption of electronic health records by United States hospitals, a widely discussed topic, particularly with regards to health policy and national funding. It was preceded by a similar study, also published in the New Engl J Med, addressing the ambulatory care sector].
Longtin Y, Sax H, Leape LL, et al. Patient participation: current knowledge and applicability to patient safety. Mayo Clin Proc. 2010;85:53–62. [A recent publication, this article reviews the current literature on patient participation to improve patient safety, and includes (1) specific suggestions for the role of patients to prevent medical errors, (2) a proposed model for patient involvement to improve patient safety, and (3) a research agenda for future work].
Additional Practical Resources/Websites
Joint Commission: http://www.jointcommission.org/
The Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals: http://www.jointcommission.org/patientsafety/nationalpatientsafetygoals/, http://psnet.ahrq.gov/resource.aspx?resourceID=2230.
Institute of Medicine: http://www.iom.edu/
World Health Organization, World Alliance for Patient Safety: http://www.who.int/patientsafety/en/
Patients for Patient Safety: http://www.who.int/patientsafety/patients_for_patient/en/
Institute for Healthcare Improvement: http://www.ihi.org/ihi.
Patient Safety page: http://www.ihi.org/IHI/Topics/PatientSafety/
Interactive Tools and Improvement Tracker: http://www.ihi.org/ihi/workspace.
National Patient Safety Foundation. http://www.npsf.org/
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): http://www.ahrq.gov/
Institute for Safety in Office-Based Surgery (ISOBS): http://isobsurgery.org/
National Center for Patient Safety: http://www.patientsafety.gov/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Arriaga, A.F. (2012). Patient Safety. In: Urman, R., Ehrenfeld, J. (eds) Physicians’ Pathways to Non-Traditional Careers and Leadership Opportunities. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0551-1_28
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0551-1_28
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-0550-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-0551-1
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)