Reflecting on To Err is Human: 20 Years of Patient Safety Work

It’s been 20 years since the Institute of Medicine — known now as the National Academy of Medicine — published the groundbreaking report, To Err is Human. And in that time, the healthcare industry has seen vast changes, bringing patient safety and healthcare quality to the forefront.

The notion that patient safety issues are not only common, but they are preventable, challenge previously held industry beliefs, Craig Clapper, a partner in strategic consulting at Press Ganey, said during a recent interview with PatientEngagementHIT.com. 

In this article he discusses the progress that has been made and what still needs to be done.

Looking into the future, Clapper sees an industry that integrates patient safety as a key element of everything it does. While clinicians focus on boosting patient satisfaction, delivering good clinical outcomes, and fulfilling other obligations, they should feel and see the connection with patient safety.

“We should talk less about safety culture in isolation and more about how to make it about the entire patient experience,” Clapper concluded. “That'll be our biggest single advantage in the next decade. Instead of having a subculture for every outcome, we must have one seamless performance culture that can emphasize the safety, quality, and experience of care.”

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Source: PatientEngagementHIT, 26 November 2019