Technology has gotten out of control

Alarms in healthcare are not a new issue, and most of the work is still ahead of us.
But what caught my eye in this NPR report is the Joint Commission's chief medical officer (Dr. McKee) quote - "technology has gotten out of control" -
Still, accordion to the Join Commission report, new requirements will be implemented as early as 2016.

Will these new instruction solve the problem?
As long as we continue to look at the technology part of the system without looking at the operator that use the technology, we will not get to a working solution. Our user has his limitations, and the amount of alarms (s)he can response to is limited. Alarm system that will not take this into consideration will always leave the system below its optimal point.

photo source - NPR

Patient safety at patients' hands (Part 2)

The National Patient Safety Foundation urges public to "Navigate Your Health…Safely".
From the PR message: "Providing safe patient care can best be achieved when patients are key members of the team and are encouraged to take an active role in their care."

Patient safety at patients' hands

A new campaign at Jewish General Hospital (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) encourage patients and their family members to be alert and ask questions when receiving medication treatments.

Photograph by: Marie-France Coallier , The Gazette

Is there a business model for patient safety?

The report that Patient Safety Technologies was bought for $120 mln. might be a sign that the business market believe that there is a business model for patient safety. Patient Safety Technologies claim to fame is a $10 per surgery bar coding technology (THE SURGICOUNT SAFETY-SPONGE® SYSTEM) that aims to reduce the incidence of sponges left in the body after surgery.

(Image source Stryker website)

Do We Rely Too Much on Automation?

There are many things we can learn from the experience of others.
This time, what pilots think about automation.

 Since aviation started to implement automation some time ago, it is interesting to see what are the current challenges they are experiencing with commercial airline automation.

"Relying too heavily on ... automation ... pose the biggest threats to airliner safety world-wide"
 (The Wall Street Journal).

one day.... this will be a blog about Human Factors in Healthcare, and how we can improve patient safety using Human Factors methods. Stay tuned