Dr. Shapiro’s concerns are supported by an abundance of data concerning medication risks. As the mainstay therapy of modern medicine, medication errors represent the most common type of patient safety error: the average hospitalized patient is subject to at least one medication error per day.

Obtaining an accurate medications list from a patient can be a painstaking endeavor with dubious payoff.

It is important to consider implementing a culture of patient safety at your health care organization – whether it is large or small, a hospital, large group practice, or other type medical facility. There’s a lot leaders can do to support and foster this transformation.

Hopefully, medicine will look to other high risk industries with improved safety records and adopt best practices or rigorously enforce its own regulations to eliminate multiple distractions that plague OR physicians and staff.

Leadership Rounding provides senior executives with the opportunity to connect with front-line staff to discuss patient safety issues and generate ideas to continue quality improvement.