Fifteen safety initiatives in commercial aviation could improve patient safety in the healthcare industry, according to a report in the Milbank Quarterly.
Several aviation safety procedures, such as the pre-op checklist for surgery, have already been adopted by healthcare, but many others could still be brought over. Authors presented the following list.
1. More checklists. Pilots go through three different checklists to ensure safety.
2. Crew resource management. Use all available resources to ensure safety.
3. Joint safety briefings. Crew undergoes briefing before each departure.
4. Minimum safety requirements. All utilized airports use specific safety installations.
5. Sterile cockpit rule. No non-essential activities during critical phases of flight.
6. Alternation of roles. Captains and first officers switch flying and non-flying duties.
7. Standard layout. Instrument layout is standardized.
8. Black box. It contains quick-access recorder, voice recorder and crash recording.
9. Corporate responsibility for training. Airlines arrange and pay for training.
10. First names only. First names "flatten the social hierarchy."
11. Incentivized no-fault reporting. Anonymity and immunity for reporting problems.
12. Bottle to throttle rule. No consumption of alcohol at least 14 hours before flight.
13. Mistake proofing. Device design makes it difficult or impossible to make a mistake.
14. Forcing functions. Such systems provide orders to pilots to prevent near misses.
15. Flight envelope protection. Pilots are prevented from exceeding structural limits.
While the proposals would be helpful in healthcare, they have not been evaluated for cost-effectiveness, the authors said.
Read the report in the Milbank Quarterly on patient safety.
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