A Culture of Safety

Excerpt

In response to the increasing frequency of adverse events documented during hospitalization, “culture of safety” programs have been developed and pursued by most US hospitals. The advent of the surgical checklist, the pre-op time out, and the TeamSTEPPS^® approach have been documented to lower the frequency of adverse events following routine surgical procedures [1, 2]. The aerospace industry has provided much of the theory and guidance for the development and application of these programs in surgery. The complex tasks required to pilot airplanes demand adoption of routines that improve communication and teamwork to reduce the chances of human error. Many experienced pilots and astronauts recognized the similarity of their teamwork approach to the execution of surgical procedures and have developed a training designed to help surgeons and hospital systems become safer. …