This struck me as interesting: The Boston Globe wrote an article on how doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) are encouraged to share medical errors. In fact, they are asked to do so, knowing that the information will be published in a case study-like format for the public to see. The objective is to fix and prevent problems that could affect the safety of patients.
In a recent issue of Safety Matters, BWH discussed a situation in which a cancer diagnosis was inadvertently delayed. At a very high level, poor communication was the issue. To prevent similar instances from occurring in the future, a newly formed committee, Communicating Clinically Significant Test Results Task Force, outlined a number of recommendations that revolve around the need for better reporting protocols and IT systems.
Outside of adverse event reporting, such transparency isn’t common in the healthcare and life sciences industries; however, it’s something all organizations can learn from as we work to better the health and safety of the people we serve.
