| MEDIA ADVISORY from the American College of Surgeons For Immediate Release: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 6:00 am (ET) |
Contact: |
American College of Surgeons to Discuss
New Approaches to Patient Safety in the Operating Room
WASHINGTON DC: The 1999 Institute of Medicine Report (IOM), To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, indicated an even more pressing need for organized medicine to make patient safety its top priority in our health care delivery system. The report concluded that anywhere from 44,000 to 98,000 Americans die each year from medical errors. While patient safety has always been a primary concern for surgeons, this IOM report has provided strong impetus for a variety of new initiatives in the area of surgical patient safety since its release over six years ago. In fact, surgeons have been looking outside their profession for new ideas, and they have found an excellent source from a very well-recognized group of safety experts: airline pilots.
So what do surgeons and airline pilots have in common? In the past few years, organized efforts have begun to bring the airline industry's crew resource management (CRM) model into the operating room to enhance patient safety and prevent accidents. What is the theory behind the CRM system? And can this system be transferred from a contemporary aircraft setting to today's operating room environment? Is the application of a CRM model for the operating room still on the drawing board? Or is it already at work in America's operating rooms?
On Wednesday, January 18, the American College of Surgeons will provide answers to these questions during its Washington DC press briefing: New Approaches to Patient Safety in the Operating Room. Surgeons will explain how they have been working with safety experts in the aviation industry to adapt the CRM system to the operating room setting, and how this initiative will present a cultural shift in training surgeons for this new team approach.
In addition, an overview of other new ACS patient safety initiatives will be presented, including a status report on another College project, a closed claims analysis of general surgery malpractice claims. Medical/health reporters and general interest reporters with an interest in safety issues are encouraged to attend this press briefing.
Press credentials or a media business card should be presented upon registering on site at the National Press Club.
| WHAT: | New Approaches to Patient Safety in the Operating Room |
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| DATE: | Wednesday, January 18, 2006 | |
| TIME: | 9:00 – 10:00 am (ET) Press Registration begins at 8:30 am |
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| LOCATION: | The Holeman Lounge National Press Club 529 14th Street, NW Washington DC 20045 |
About the American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 70,000 members and it is the largest organization of surgeons in the world.
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Online January 17 , 2006