Safe Medical Care – We Can Wish It or We Can Design It | Health Commentary

Safe Medical Care – We Can Wish It or We Can Design It | Health Commentary: "Relying on doctors to do the right thing out of a sense of duty or through fear (malpractice suits) totally ignores the fact that to err is human. People will make serious mistakes because of misinterpretations, knowledge deficits or persistent habits of thought, even when they try to avoid them. Only systems that:

1. Avoid Reliance on Memory
2. Simplify Tasks
3. Standardize Procedures and Equipment
4. Use Constraints and Forcing Functions
5. Use Protocols and Checklists Wisely

will move medicine out of its cottage industry practices into the modern world of systems design."