10 ways to save your life.

摘要

A groundbreaking 1999 report from the Institute of Medicine found that as many as 98,000 people die yearly in hospitals because of medical mistakes. In the years since that report was released, hospitals have adopted new safety procedures with hopes of reversing the trend. In the best scenarios, that means a system like this: Nurses debrief one another on patient details as they prepare to change shifts. Patients sit down with care managers before an operation to review the procedure and again post-op to go over treatment guidelines and medication dosing. Doctors and nurses involved in surgery pause before starting so they can review the operation procedure, make sure they have the correct patient, and know exactly which body part will go under the knife-all while the patient is awake. And staff members all wash their hands, again and again and again.