Calming fears, alleviating suffering, enhancing and saving lives -- this is what motivates doctors virtually every single day. When the structure and culture in which physicians work are well aligned, being a doctor is a most rewarding job. But something has gone wrong in the physician world, and it is urgent that we fix it.Fundamental flaws in the US health care system make it more difficult and less rewarding than ever to be a doctor. The convergence of a complex amalgam of force...

“How can it be that in 2008, a checked bag on an airline flight is still exponentially safer than a patient in an American hospital?  Simply put, one industry has learned the realities of what it takes to make a human system safe, and the other has not.  So what does it take to dramatically improve patient safety and service quality?  It takes a host of new and different (and sometimes radical) methods centered on supporting the people on the front lines – t...

A behind the scenes look at how a huge portion of our absurd healthcare spending actually bankrolls a propaganda campaign and lobbying effort focused on protecting one thing: profits.A former senior VP of CIGNA, Wendell Potter made national headlines with his scorching testimony before the Senate panel on health care reform. He explained how health insurers make promises they have no intention of keeping, how they flout regulations designed to protect consumers, an...

In 1991, the Institute of Medicine released a landmark report, which revealed that as many as 98,000 patients were dying every year owing to avoidable medical error. More recent research indicates that estimate was, if anything, a drastic understatement of the patient-safety epidemic in the US health care system.In Malpractice, neurosurgeon and attorney Dr. Larry Schlachter makes a case that most patients enter the system without any idea of the risks they face, due to a m...

The "wrenching but inspiring" true story of a tragic medical mistake that turned a grieving mother into a national advocate ( The Wall Street Journal).Sorrel King was a young mother of four when her eighteen-month-old daughter was badly burned by a faulty water heater in the family's new home. Taken to the world-renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital, Josie made a remarkable recovery. But as she was preparing to leave, the hospital's system of communication broke...

Medical errors kill 24,000 Canadians each year, adversely affect hundreds of thousands, and cost close to two billion dollars. Victims of medical errors and their families who speak out often do so at considerable emotional, psychological, and financial expense. But their willingness to share their harrowing stories has helped to lay the foundation for numerous patient safety programs and continues to identify problems, provide solutions, and raise awareness.After the Error

‘Too frequently, we leave it too late to start to think — but a crisis is never the best time for careful thought.’As Australia's population ages, many individuals are faced with making complex medical decisions, for themselves and for others, in times of great stress. How far should doctors go when trying to prolong life? How can we decide what is ‘too far’ and ‘not far enough’ for our loved ones unless we know what their wishes are?Letting Go is ...

Health care costs make up nearly a fifth of U.S. gross domestic product, but health care is a peculiar thing to buy and sell. Both a scarce resource and a basic need, it involves physical and emotional vulnerability and at the same time it operates as big business. Patients have little choice but to trust those who provide them care, but even those providers confront a great deal of medical uncertainty about the services they offer. Selling Our Souls looks at the contradictions in...

At the clinical, management, and policy levels, the use of knowledge and evidence in health care has become a worldwide priority. The contributors to Using Knowledge and Evidence in Health Care seek to broaden our understanding of the complexity involved in health care decision-making by integrating social science knowledge and exploring some of the challenges and limits of evidence in different health care contexts.Louise Lemieux-Charles and François Champagne have brough...

Emergency Department Design: A Practical Guide to Planning for the Future, second edition, is a one-of-a-kind resource written by the nation's foremost authority on emergency department design and published by the world's largest emergency medicine organization. It explains the architectural design process specific to emergency departments and teaches emergency physicians, nurses, hospital administrators, and other health care providers how to prepare and lead a design team. The b...

The Meaning of Careful addresses the pressing need to improve patient safety and cost efficiencies while at the same time nurturing staff morale & improving the patient experience. It offers a unique perspective on the possibilities for change within the healthcare system informed both by Dr Brownʼs hands-on experience as an ER doctor and his involvement in managing change in large corporations.

The Quality Playbook and the companion Workbook (which you can purchase separately on the publisher's website www.SecondRiverHealthcare.com) are about creating great clinical outcomes and safer care for patients, families, and communities; creating healthcare organizations that rank at the top of the nation’s rating lists; and doing what most organizations have been unable to do: deliver top quality at an affordable cost—true healthcare value. If one is embarking on a new quality prog...