Improving Patient Safety in Hospitals

Charles Nechemias of blessed memory, an endocrinologist, used to say, “A hospital is no place for a sick person.” Having now practiced internal medicine and anesthesiology for decades I share his belief. However, there are reasons hospitals have become more dangerous.

There has been a sea change in the severity of illness among hospitalized patients. A great deal of care that used to be provided on an inpatient basis is now provided on an outpatient basis. Therefore, even when doctors and nurses are caring for similar numbers of patients as in years past, the severity of illness manifested by today’s patients and the importance of each medical decision related to each patient have increased greatly. Furthermore, due to advances in care and technology, more intensive and sophisticated techniques are used during critical events…