Katie Couric Spotlights Healthcare Lean Initiatives
February 5th, 2007 by HalDon Berwick is on a mission to eliminate deaths from medical mistakes in hospitals. His 100k Lives campaign at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement is making great headway. And along the way many people are noticing., including Katie Couric. On Tuesday evening CBS News will showcase Dr. Berwick and his lean approach to healthcare improvement. Here's the CBS announcement:
"The Institute of Medicine recently estimated that nearly 100,000 people die every year due to medical mistakes. Couric profiles Don Berwick, a Harvard-trained pediatrician and public health expert, who is trying to make American healthcare safer. He says the problem is not a specific virus, bacteria or genetic disease, but the hospitals and the "quality" of the care. To date, Berwick's new, wide-reaching program has helped 3,100 hospitals become safer, possibly resulting in many lives saved."
I don't remember how I heard about IHI and Dr. Berwick, but I've been subscribing to their newsletter and announcements for a few months. What could be more worthwhile than keeping those people who go to hospitals from dying from medical mistakes? Tune in to Katie to see what Dr. Berwick and his team are doing.
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February 6th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Hal,
I dont think CBS have got it right in the announcement - the focus to me isnt about “quality” of care - its about the “safety” of the care. Its possible to have high quality delivery of incorrect patient treatment - but the difference here seems to be that Berwick is focused on patient safety. Its always been true that high performing projects tend to be the safest - but maybe Berwick is proving the opposite is true - go about the project withsafe and concientious manner and you will get a high performance output? If this is the case (and I havent seen all the facts, and I wont hear the interview as Im in the UK) then this has implications for your thread on Construction Safety. Go about making construction projects as safe as you can and maybe, by default because youve covered all the bases, you will get a high performing AND safe project.
Thought provoking - thank you for bringing such an unusual thread to my attention!
Keep up the great work.