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.
Narrow Results Clear All
Approach to Improving Safety
Safety Target
Interview
In Conversation with…Thomas J. Nasca, MD
Medical Education and Patient Safety, February 2010
Thomas J. Nasca, MD, is the executive director and chief executive officer of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Prior to joining the ACGME in 2007, Dr. Nasca, a nephrologist, was dean of Jefferson Medical College and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs of Thomas Jefferson University. We asked him to speak with us about the role of the ACGME in patient safety.
Interview
In Conversation with…Sanjay Saint, MD, MPH
Prevention of Urinary Tract Infections: Lessons for Patient Safety, November 2008
Sanjay Saint, MD, MPH, is Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Saint's research has focused on reducing health care–associated infections, with a particular focus on preventing catheter-related urinary tract infections (UTIs). We asked him to speak with us about how research on UTI prevention provides broader lessons for patient safety.
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.
Interview
In Conversation with...James L. Reinertsen, MD
The Board's Role in Patient Safety, July-August 2007
James L. Reinertsen, MD, heads the Reinertsen Group, a prominent health care consulting firm based in Wyoming. Prior to that, he was CEO at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he developed a reputation for his unwavering focus on safety and quality. He is also a senior faculty member at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), where he has taken a role in teaching leadership skills and promoting the engagement of health care boards and "C-suites" in patient safety efforts. He was a prime driver behind the IHI's decision to include the "Boards on Board" initiative as part of its recent 5 Million Lives Campaign. We asked him to speak with us about the role of boards in improving patient safety.
Perspective
The PeaceHealth Governance Journey in Support of Quality and Safety
with commentary by John L. Haughom, MD, The Board's Role in Patient Safety, July-August 2007
In recent years, the case for improving the quality and safety of care has become irrefutable. Over the next few years, failure to act will likely have far-reaching consequences for hospitals and health systems including loss of market share, increased liability, a demoralized workforce, and a sharp rise in fear and distrust among patients who lack confidence in the ability of their provider to deliver safe care...
Interview
In Conversation with...Diane Rydrych, MA
State Error Reporting Systems, June 2007
Diane Rydrych, MA, is Assistant Director of the Division of Health Policy at the Minnesota Department of Health, where she oversees their successful and influential adverse health events reporting system. We asked her to speak with us about the Minnesota initiative and some of the broader lessons for state error reporting systems.
Perspective
What Can the Rest of the Health Care System Learn from the VA's Quality and Safety Transformation?
with commentary by Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, The Transformation of Patient Safety at the VA, September 2006
Five years after the landmark Crossing the Quality Chasm report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the quality and safety of health care in the United States remains far from ideal.(1) It is easy to feel pessimistic. Can health care organizations really...