How Toyota Can Save Your Life…at the hospital by Mark Graban, another great manifesto from Change This:
In reality, each of these deaths and medical mistakes is a systemic failure. these were problems that could have occurred, or were bound to occur, anywhere–any given patient, any given caregiver. the idea that medical mistakes, as with plane crashes, are basically random events is very scary.
True. If the context of the problem is not understood the efforts to improve will not be as effective as they could be.
Spending money hasn’t worked so far. While the united States far outspends other countries ($4500 per capita, while Switzerland is a distant second at about $3000 per capita), our life expectancy trails Japan (which spends about $2000 per capita), Switzerland, and other countries including Canada, France, Luxembourg, and even Malta. Spending more, whether it’s in manufacturing, education, or healthcare does not necessarily lead to higher quality or better results.
…
Unfortunately, the healthcare world operates in a highly litigious environment where there are financial or legal incentives to cover up and hide the cause of problems. It is easier to let an individual take the fall and let the public believe that the problem has been solved because the person at fault was fired or prosecuted.
Exactly the problem. Instead of fixing the system, make excuses, blame people and leave the system just as susceptible to error in the future. Good article - read it.
Related: Epidemic of Diagnoses - Thoughts on Hospital Management by Deming - Evidence-based Management - articles on better health care - PBS Documentary: Improving Hospitals - Management Improvement in Healthcare - USA Healthcare Costs Now 16% of GDP - Health Care Crisis
