There is no better one must read for this week than this.

The Joint Commission’s president and CEO, Mark R. Chassin, MD, FACP, MPP, MPH issued a call for change – Physicians & Health Care Organizations Must Take New Approach to Quality and Safety Improvement

Physicians & Health Care Organizations Must Take New Approach to Quality and Safety Improvement #ptsafety Click To Tweet 

Dr. Chassin says that the “ultimate goal is zero harm for patients and health care workers”. To achieve that goal requires:

• physicians and organizations to “master the tools, methods, and science that businesses outside of health care have proven to be capable of facilitating” this goal.
• accrediting and certifying organizations to “develop new programs and activities designed to foster, identify, and publicly recognize consistent excellence”.

Dr. Mark Chassin - ultimate goal is zero harm for patients and health care workers #ptsafety Click To Tweet 

And, what might happen if these changes are not made?

Not making changes may mean a loss of autonomy for medical professions:

Professions have special privileges in the United States. There are intangible benefits such as prestige, but more importantly, professions have the dearly prized privilege of autonomy. With this privilege comes the expectation that a profession will establish codes of conduct and promote high standards of quality among its members …

… medicine’s overall record of self-governance is less exemplary. Problematic behaviors have too often been tolerated within health care organizations and by the profession as a whole. Many stakeholders suggest that medicine has failed to address pressing societal needs such as poor quality of care and safety, lack of access to health care, and the high cost of care. As a consequence, threats to self-governance have arisen from government officials, private organizations purporting to judge physician quality, and consumers demanding greater accountability.

Do you agree or disagree with Dr. Chassin?

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