Patient Safety Is Alive, But...Sorry Works! Article In JPSRM

Sorry Works! Founder Doug Wojcieszak has just published a commentary piece in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management (JPSRM) entitled, "Patient Safety is Alive, But Consumers Pose Challenges: A Response to "Who Killed Patient Safety?’"  

Here is the link for the article. 

A few months ago, an article was published in the JPSRM entitled, "Who Killed Patient Safety?" by Hemmelgarn et. al.  These authors basically argued that patient safety has fallen off the radar of too many healthcare professionals; they even trotted out the tired trope of why can't medicine be more like aviation. The Wojcieszak paper is the response to the Hemmelgarn et. al. commentary.

Patient safety is alive and well, with many healthcare, insurance, and legal professionals working every day to make hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare organizations safer -- and this reality must be acknowledged.  Yes, medicine can learn from aviation, but the aviation industry is much different than healthcare and it's truly not an apples-to-apples comparison.  Specifically, airplanes are maintained in a meticulous fashion by expert mechanics -- can we say the same about consumers, especially American consumers?  No. The Wojcieszak article challenges readers to consider the role of consumers in adding to the patient safety crisis by overburdening our healthcare system with chronically ill patients too often put there by bad choices and poor behavior.  

Again, here is the link for the Wojcieszak article.  

This essay will likely make some people -- perhaps many people -- angry for a variety of reasons. That's OK, so long as the article ignites an honest discussion within the patient safety community.

Sincerely,

- Doug

Doug Wojcieszak, MA, MS
Founder, Sorry Works!
618-559-8168 (direct dial)
doug@sorryworks.net