Safe patients, smart hospitals : how one doctor's checklist can help us change health care from the inside out

"The tough-minded and revealing story of a leading doctor's crusade against medical harm ... Fascinating reading."--Atul Gawande, author of The Checklist Manifesto . First, do no harm. Doctors, nurses, and clinicians swear by this code of conduct. Yet, medical errors are made every single day-avoidable mistakes that often cost lives. Inspired by two such mistakes, Dr. Peter Pronovost made it his personal mission to improve patient safety and make preventable deaths a thing of the past, one hospital at a time. Safe Patients, Smart Hospitals shows how Dr. Pronovost started a revolution by creating a simple checklist that standardized a common ICU procedure. His reforms are being implemented in all fifty states and have saved hundreds of lives by cutting hospital-acquired infection rates by 70%. Atul Gawande profiled Dr. Pronovost's reforms in a New Yorker article and his bestselling book The Checklist Manifesto is based upon Dr. Pronovost's success in patient safety. But Safe Patients, Smart Hospitals is the real story: an inspiring, thought-provoking, accessible insider's narrative about how doctors and nurses are improving patient care for all Americans, today. A leading innovator in patient safety shows how to save lives While Americans spend more on health care than any other country in the western world, our hospitals and clinics kill more patients. Patient safety expert Dr. Peter Pronovost is working to remedy that, by changing the way hospitals and doctors function day to day. In fact, his ideas are already saving people. By introducing a five-step checklist that standardizes a common ICU procedure, Dr. Pronovost has decreased the rate of infection-and as a result, unnecessary deaths- across the country by 90 percent.Improving health care is a priority for all Americans, but it's a daunting subject. In this book, Dr. Pronovost makes reform relatable, easy to understand, and inspiring. With opinions and anecdotal evidence from patients, health care professionals, and Dr. Pronovost's own experience, as well as comprehensive research on medical procedures and policies, Safe Patients, Smart Hospitals shows how simple steps can fix our hospitals and improve patient care. While Americans spend more on health care than any other country in the western world, our hospitals and clinics kill more patients. Patient safety expert Dr. Peter Pronovost is working to remedy that, by changing the way hospitals and doctors function day to day. In fact, his ideas are already saving people. By introducing a five-step checklist that standardizes a common ICU procedure, Dr. Pronovost has decreased the rate of infection--and as a result, unnecessary deaths--across the country by 90 percent. In this book, Dr. Pronovost makes reform relatable, easy to understand, and inspiring.--From publisher description Cover Page 1 Title Page 5 Copyright Page 6 Dedication Page 7 Introduction 9 Chapter One 25 Chapter Two 48 Chapter Three 76 Chapter Four 104 Chapter Five 137 Chapter Six 168 Chapter Seven 196 Chapter Eight 215 Chapter Nine 238 Chapter Ten 254 Conclusion 286 Acknowledgments 297 Index 301