Reducing health care hazards: lessons from the commercial aviation safety team.

Journal Article

The movement to improve quality of care and patient safety has grown, but examples of measurable and sustained progress are rare. The slow progress made in health care contrasts with the success of aviation safety. After a tragic 1995 plane crash, the aviation industry and government created the Commercial Aviation Safety Team to reduce fatal accidents. This public-private partnership of safety officials and technical experts is responsible for the decreased average rate of fatal aviation accidents. We propose a similar partnership in the health care community to coordinate national efforts and move patient safety and quality forward.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Pronovost, PJ; Goeschel, CA; Olsen, KL; Pham, JC; Miller, MR; Berenholtz, SM; Sexton, JB; Marsteller, JA; Morlock, LL; Wu, AW; Loeb, JM; Clancy, CM

Published Date

  • May 2009

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 28 / 3

Start / End Page

  • w479 - w489

PubMed ID

  • 19351647

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1544-5208

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0278-2715

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1377/hlthaff.28.3.w479

Language

  • eng