Zero Tolerance For Preventable Errors In Medicine

A new article in Washington Monthly highlights preventable errors in medicine and how difficult it can be to even get data on hospital care or even something as simple as infections patients received while at a hospital. The author's solution? A national program of tracking each and every error and near-miss, detailing the incident and looking for lessons learned. he wants to model it on the airline industry and the pro-active way it deals with every single mistake. Even a pilot turning a plane briefly in the wrong direction when pulling away from a boarding gate is noted and examined. Last year, the airline industry had no fatal airline accidents in the developed world. Why shouldn't hospitals strive for the same zero tolerance?