When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error
| Item Information | |
|---|---|
| Item#: | 9780807037881 |
| Edition | 01 |
| Author | Ofri, Danielle |
| Cover | Hardback |
Medical mistakes are more pervasive than we think. How can we improve outcomes? An acclaimed MD's rich stories and research explore patient safety.
Patients enter the medical system with faith that they will receive the best care possible, so when things go wrong, it's a profound and painful breach. Medical science has made enormous strides in decreasing mortality and suffering, but there's no doubt that treatment can also cause harm, a significant portion of which is preventable. InWhen We Do Harm, practicing physician and acclaimed author Danielle Ofri places the issues of medical error and patient safety front and center in our national healthcare conversation.
Drawing on current research, professional experience, and extensive interviews with nurses, physicians, administrators, researchers, patients, and families, Dr. Ofri explores the diagnostic, systemic, and cognitive causes of medical error. She advocates for strategic use of concrete safety interventions such as checklists and improvements to the electronic medical record, but focuses on the full-scale cultural and cognitive shifts required to make a meaningful dent in medical error. Woven throughout the book are the powerfully human stories that Dr. Ofri is renowned for. The errors she dissects range from the hardly noticeable missteps to the harrowing medical cataclysms.
While our healthcare system is--and always will be--imperfect, Dr. Ofri argues that it is possible to minimize preventable harms, and that this should be the galvanizing issue of current medical discourse.
Patients enter the medical system with faith that they will receive the best care possible, so when things go wrong, it's a profound and painful breach. Medical science has made enormous strides in decreasing mortality and suffering, but there's no doubt that treatment can also cause harm, a significant portion of which is preventable. InWhen We Do Harm, practicing physician and acclaimed author Danielle Ofri places the issues of medical error and patient safety front and center in our national healthcare conversation.
Drawing on current research, professional experience, and extensive interviews with nurses, physicians, administrators, researchers, patients, and families, Dr. Ofri explores the diagnostic, systemic, and cognitive causes of medical error. She advocates for strategic use of concrete safety interventions such as checklists and improvements to the electronic medical record, but focuses on the full-scale cultural and cognitive shifts required to make a meaningful dent in medical error. Woven throughout the book are the powerfully human stories that Dr. Ofri is renowned for. The errors she dissects range from the hardly noticeable missteps to the harrowing medical cataclysms.
While our healthcare system is--and always will be--imperfect, Dr. Ofri argues that it is possible to minimize preventable harms, and that this should be the galvanizing issue of current medical discourse.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
Jumbo Jets Crashing
CHAPTER TWO
A Sea of Uncertainty
CHAPTER THREE
Making—or Missing—the Diagnosis
CHAPTER FOUR
The Fever
CHAPTER FIVE
Diagnostic Thinking
CHAPTER SIX
The Descent
CHAPTER SEVEN
For the Record
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Human Consequences
CHAPTER NINE
On the Clock
CHAPTER TEN
What You See
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I'll See You in Court
CHAPTER TWELVE
Is There a Better Way?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Looking for Answers
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Bringing Along Our Brains
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Reckoning
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
So What's a Patient to Do?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Getting It Right
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
Jumbo Jets Crashing
CHAPTER TWO
A Sea of Uncertainty
CHAPTER THREE
Making—or Missing—the Diagnosis
CHAPTER FOUR
The Fever
CHAPTER FIVE
Diagnostic Thinking
CHAPTER SIX
The Descent
CHAPTER SEVEN
For the Record
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Human Consequences
CHAPTER NINE
On the Clock
CHAPTER TEN
What You See
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I'll See You in Court
CHAPTER TWELVE
Is There a Better Way?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Looking for Answers
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Bringing Along Our Brains
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Reckoning
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
So What's a Patient to Do?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Getting It Right
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index