Go Ad-Free
logoThe People's Perspective on Medicine

952 Why Is Flying Safer Than Health Care? Developing a Safety Culture

Tune in to our radio show on your local public radio station, or sign up for the podcast and listen at your leisure. Here’s what it’s about:

Airplane crashes are extremely rare, because the airline industry figured out a few decades ago how to encourage a culture of safety in which anyone on the team is encouraged to speak up if they notice something amiss. Yet, some people are still nervous about getting on a plane.

Health care has never gotten the media attention that accompanies a plane crash. Perhaps because of that, hospitals fly under the radar. Firm figures are hard to come by, but the best estimates place deaths due to health care harm around 500,000 a year in the US–equivalent to 1,000 jets dropping out of the sky. What could health care learn from aviation safety?

Guests: Kathleen Bartholomew, RN, MN, is a national consultant and speaker on patient safety. Her books include Speak Your Truth; Ending Nurse-to-Nurse Hostility: Why Nurses Eat Their Young and Each Other; and Charting the Course: Launching Patient-Centric Healthcare, co-authored with her husband John Nance. Her website is http://www.kathleenbartholomew.com/

John Nance, JD, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force and a pilot in commercial aviation. He is an internationally recognized broadcast analyst and advocate for both aviation and health care safety. His books include Blind Trust; Why Hospitals Should Fly: The Ultimate Flight Plan to Patient Safety and Quality Care; and Charting the Course: Launching Patient-Centric Healthcare, co-authored with his wife Kathleen Bartholomew.

The podcast of this program will be available the Monday after the broadcast date. The show can be streamed online from this site and podcasts can be downloaded for free for four weeks after the date of broadcast. After that time has passed, digital downloads are available for $2.99. CDs may be purchased at any time after broadcast for $9.99.

 

Rate this article
star-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-empty
3.5- 2 ratings
About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
Tired of the ads on our website?

Now you can browse our website completely ad-free for just $5 / month. Stay up to date on breaking health news and support our work without the distraction of advertisements.

Browse our website ad-free
Join over 150,000 Subscribers at The People's Pharmacy

We're empowering you to make wise decisions about your own health, by providing you with essential health information about both medical and alternative treatment options.