Patient Safety and Acute Care Medicine: Lessons for the Future, Insights from the Past

It is estimated that approximately 40,000–100,000 Americans die annually from medical errors [2]. Thousands more suffer harm from medical errors. Still others are exposed to errors, but are lucky enough to suffer no obvious harm [3]. In fact, medical errors are now the eighth leading cause of death in the USA; data are no less alarming from other nations [4]. Regardless of the exact figures, it seems that patient safety is far from adequate. Crudely put, if medicine were a patient, we physicians would say it is time to admit there is a problem. We would expect urgent action, and we would welcome any ideas, rather than tolerate further delays. This chapter hopes to provide a call-to-arms, but most importantly a range of ideas, both new and old, to achieve the sort of care that our patients deserve.