Up Next for Patient Safety

Both England and Norway have recently established national agencies solely focused on addressing safety problems in health care. Could a similar independent, nonpunitive federal agency be the missing piece to finally put the U.S. on a clear path to improved healthcare safety? Join host Karen Wolk Feinstein and guests Dr. Carl Macrae, professor of Organizational Behavior and Psychology at Nottingham University Business School in England, and Dr. Siri Wiig, professor of Quality and Safety in Healthcare Systems at the University of Stavanger in Norway, for an inside look into the forces that inspired action on patient safety and the tactics that helped to build broad support for the endeavors.

Can improving the way physicians provide feedback to their peer physicians make care safer? How can providers ensure that the right people, policies, and procedures are in place to effectively act on physician performance data? Join host Karen Wolk Feinstein and internist and professor Dr. Thomas Gallagher of the Departments of Medicine and Bioethics and Humanities and associate chair for Patient Care Quality, Safety, and Value at the University of Washington, and pediatrics professor Dr. Gerald Hickson, chair of Medical Education and Administration and founding director of the Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, as they discuss the concept of physician peer review and how to increase accuracy of and accountability for performance data to reduce medical error.

Why can it be so difficult to change behavior in physicians? How can “unremarkable AI” be seamlessly integrated to improve clinical care? Join host Karen Wolk Feinstein and physician Dr. Seth Wolk, adjunct professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy in the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, and technology design researcher John Zimmerman, Tang Family Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, as they explore the human context for medical error - and how we can get physicians on board with innovative technologies that could make the healthcare system safer. 

In a special episode to kick off the new year, three renowned leaders in patient safety offer critical insight on where we’ve come from and how to move forward. Join host Karen Wolk Feinstein and special guest co-host Martin Hatlie of Project Patient Care and MedStar Institute for Quality & Safety in a compelling conversation with Dr. Carolyn Clancy of the Veterans Health Administration, Dr. Ken Kizer of Atlas Research, and Dr. David Mayer of MedStar Institute for Quality & Safety as they reflect on the origins of the patient safety movement and look toward the future of patient safety in the U.S. They help us understand what the history of efforts to improve patient safety can tell us about what can be done today to eliminate patient harm. 

Why are some industries far ahead in applying safety technologies and making continuous progress? Why is health care behind? One medical specialty, however, defies this track. Join host Karen Wolk Feinstein and special guests Dr. Aman Mahajan, professor and chair of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine, bioinformatics, and pharmacology and professor of bioengineering in the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh and chair of UPMC Perioperative Services, and Dr. Jeffrey Cooper, professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and founder of the Center for Medical Simulation, as they explore how the specialty of anesthesiology has embraced technology and a culture of safety in ways that others have not. 

What does the COVID-19 pandemic teach us about patient safety? How can we make sure that the systemic problems that led to unnecessary suffering are fixed once and for all? Join host Karen Wolk Feinstein and special guests Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive vice president at the American Public Health Association, and Chris Johnson, president and co-CEO at TeleTracking, as they explore how lessons learned through the pandemic response can be applied to healthcare safety. 

Does the current U.S. health system financially reward safety? Join host Karen Wolk Feinstein and special guests Jessica Brooks, MPM, president & CEO of the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health and CEO & founder of US Health Desk, and Nancy Guinto, MHA, executive director of the Washington Health Alliance, as they explore the financial incentives that impact health care at every level in the United States. If safety is going to improve, what needs to change in the healthcare economy, and what progress and solutions are available to impact safety today? 

The frontiers of healthcare technology that can transform patient safety are already here. Join host Karen Wolk Feinstein as she speaks with two experts in using big data to improve health care: David Classen, MD, MS, professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine, and Michael McShea, MS, MBA, group chief scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in the Health and Human Systems group of the National Health Mission Area. Discover existing solutions in applications of autonomous safety technologies and predictive analytics that could anticipate harm and intervene to prevent harm before it occurs. 

Medical error kills 250,000 Americans every year, and COVID-19 has further exposed the need for better patient safety. Join special guest host Harry Litman, the host of the Talking Feds podcast, as he interviews Robert L. Sumwalt, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (2017-2021), and Karen Wolk Feinstein, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, as they explore this persistent problem in health care and a new proposed solution: a National Patient Safety Board (NPSB) modeled after what has made airlines one of the safest industries in the country.