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Can Aviation Lessons Apply to Hospitals?Some hospitals are adopting procedures that the airline industry is using to reduce errors and make flying safer. It is believed that some of these aviation safety principles can help hospitals reduce medical errors and save lives. A primary culprit in both medical errors and airline accidents is human error, most notably failures in communication. In the late 1970s black-box recordings after aviation accidents revealed that people in the cockpits were not speaking up when they suspected a problem. This was due, in large part, to the hierarchy in the air — where pilots are the top of the pecking order and co-pilots and flight attendants were reluctant to challenge their authority. Doctors have similar status in the medical industry — nurses and other health care personnel tend to defer to them.
One such safety system, LifeWings, was developed by a team of physicians, former astronauts and pilots. After implementing LifeWings, one hospital reduced its incidence of retained objects from surgery by 75 percent. According to The New York Times: the British medical journal BMJ, the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Journal of Critical Care have all published research suggesting hospitals that adopt these measures experience fewer malpractice suits and postsurgical infections. Also, patient recovery times tend to be lower, and employee satisfaction is higher. |
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Instituting new safety procedures and giving all staff “permission” to speak up requires a systemic culture change. The model of “crew resource management” eliminates the hierarchy and sets standards for cross-checking the work of even the most senior and experienced doctor or surgeon. Medical teams learn standard cockpit procedures like communication protocols, checklists and crew briefings to improve patient care. Communication becomes more organized, regimented and collaborative. 
