Perspectives on Safety
Our Perspectives on Safety section features expert viewpoints on current themes in patient safety, including interviews and written essays published monthly. Annual Perspectives highlight vital and emerging patient safety topics.
Interview
In Conversation with...Geri Amori, PhD
Risk Management and Patient Safety, December 2010
Geri Amori, PhD, is Vice President for the Education Center at The Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute, and a popular writer and speaker.
Interview
In Conversation with...Dean Schillinger, MD
Health Literacy and Safety, February-March 2009
Dean Schillinger, MD, is a Professor of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco, Director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations, and Chief of the California Diabetes Prevention and Control Program. His role as a practicing clinician at a safety net hospital (San Francisco General Hospital) has put him in a unique position to pursue influential and relevant research related to health literacy and improving care for vulnerable populations.
Perspective
The Role of Health Literacy in Patient Safety
with commentary by Michael S. Wolf, PhD, MPH; Stacy Cooper Bailey, MPH, Health Literacy and Safety, February-March 2009
Clear health communication is increasingly recognized as essential for promoting patient safety. Yet according to a recent Joint Commission report, What Did the Doctor Say? Improving Health Literacy to Protect Patient Safety, communication problems among health care providers, patients, and families are common and a leading root cause of adverse outcomes. Addressing health literacy—the capacity of individuals to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions—has become a primary objective for many health systems in order to protect patients from harm.
Interview
In Conversation with...Eric Coleman, MD, MPH
Improving Transitions in Care, December 2007
Eric A. Coleman, MD, MPH, is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado. Trained in both geriatrics and health services research, Dr. Coleman has emerged as one of the world's leading authorities on issues surrounding transitions of care, particularly between acute and postacute settings. His care model, the Care Transitions Intervention, is being adopted by leading health care organizations around the country. The Intervention has been associated with significant decreases in rehospitalization rates.