The ice bucket challenge, Throwing axes And patient safety

We live in a world where the latest rage or viral sensation dominate our perception of the world. With the recent passing of Peter Frates, the legacy he has created and the tens of millions of dollars he has raised for ALS cannot be forgotten. Concomitantly the latest rage for bars and recreation including ax throwing befuddles and entertains

So how do we use these two examples of capturing the fascination of our cyber public with the importance of patient safety and medical errors. We need a vehicle which will go viral which will create a unity of purpose for both the public and the healthcare industry to reprioritize patient safety and medical errors. The third leading cause of death in the United States is medical errors. Every 90 seconds another patient dies due to a medical error. Why is this not on the front page? Why has this topic not generated outrage and comprehensive action to correct ?

We live in a world where the deferential attitude to medical care and western technology acts as a serious impediment to recognizing the extent and nature of medical errors and iatrogenic harm. We shatter our mortality and confidence in healthcare and destroy “therapeutic illusion” when we acknowledge our vulnerablity to errors. The time has come to find the vehicle by which we raise the profile of safety quality and medical errors

We need the next ice bucket challenge. We need to capture the public frenzy of ax throwing so that we hit the bull’s-eye of minimizing medical errors and patient harm. Patient education research and facts don’t have the impact. Nothing has changed in the 20 years since the report “To Err is Human” was promulgated

Working for a new target, a new vehicle, a new focus, a viral message can save lives and enhance healthcare delivery. It’s time to make a difference