Northeast Georgia Health System has hired anesthesiologist and commercial airline pilot Michael Appel, MD, as chief patient safety officer, according to a system release.
Dr. Appel completed his medical degree at Columbia University in New York while also becoming a private pilot. He eventually merged the two careers as a traveling anesthesiologist who flew himself to each facility. In Dec. 2000, he accepted a position with Delta Connection and became an airline pilot.
Dr. Appel first joined Northeast Georgia Health System in 2008 and took an immediate interest in patient safety initiatives with the system. He was able to relate his experiences in aviation to the patient safety issues at the hospital. Several patient safety projects at NGHS now borrow techniques directly from the aviation industry. One uses "root cause analysis" in a way similar to aircraft accident investigations by identifying a patient safety concern and working backwards to fix the process itself, according to the release.
Dr. Appel brings more than 20 years experience in healthcare, as well as his expertise in the cockpit, to his new position with NGHS.
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Dr. Appel completed his medical degree at Columbia University in New York while also becoming a private pilot. He eventually merged the two careers as a traveling anesthesiologist who flew himself to each facility. In Dec. 2000, he accepted a position with Delta Connection and became an airline pilot.
Dr. Appel first joined Northeast Georgia Health System in 2008 and took an immediate interest in patient safety initiatives with the system. He was able to relate his experiences in aviation to the patient safety issues at the hospital. Several patient safety projects at NGHS now borrow techniques directly from the aviation industry. One uses "root cause analysis" in a way similar to aircraft accident investigations by identifying a patient safety concern and working backwards to fix the process itself, according to the release.
Dr. Appel brings more than 20 years experience in healthcare, as well as his expertise in the cockpit, to his new position with NGHS.
Related Articles on Anesthesia:
Illinois' Wood-Library Museum of Anesthesiology Digitizes Collection of Rare Books and Papers
FDA to Reconsider Propofol Sedation System From Ethicon Endo-Surgery
Group Protests University of Virginia's Use of Cats in Intubation Training