Berwick estimates that for every 100 patients admitted to hospitals, there are 40 to 50 incidents in which patients are harmed — ranging from bruises and bed sores to much more life-threatening situations. “Between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die in hospitals each year, killed by their care, not by their disease,” Berwick says.
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Catherine De Santis would once have been at risk for a life-threatening infection because of the tube she needs for feeding. But new procedures, championed by Berwick, have greatly reduced this danger.

“We standardized practices so that the line is placed in a sterile manner,” Koll says. Following the guidelines has saved untold lives, he adds. “I feel — even though I don’t want to be in the hospital — a lot more comfortable bring here,” De Santis says. The campaign does more than save lives — it saves hospitals money. “A lot of people ask ‘how can you afford to improve?’ The answer is, ‘you can’t afford not to,’” Berwick notes.