Safety in Medicine

Studies in the USA suggest that roughly 4 percent of hospital patients are unintentionally harmed during treatment. These thousands of accidents have received little research attention. This book assumes that medicine can benefit and learn from approaches to safety in other areas, and that medicine itself could become a source of information in safety-related research. It adresses the opportunities and risks posed by the introduction of new technologies. Chapters are grouped according to the perspective they take, starting with conceptual foundations and moving towards safety management. The first chapter offers an overview of approaches to safety in psychological and organizational literature, providing background information for readers who may not be familiar with safety literature. The following chapters demonstrate the need to take a long-term perspective. The text ends with reflections on the nature of safety management and its application in a healthcare environment.