Perioperative safety: it's time to drop our tools

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality and Safety
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Patient safety progress has stagnated since the "To Err is Human" report.
• Traditional deficit-based models of patient safety are insufficient.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify commonly used patient safety tools that impede progress.
• To propose alternative paradigms for advancing patient safety.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing patient safety literature and models.
• Analysis of "deficit-based" versus "complementary" approaches to safety.

Main Results:

• Current patient safety tools and approaches may be hindering progress.
• A shift towards understanding the underpinnings of safe work is advocated.

Conclusions:

• Rethinking the reliance on human error as a primary cause is necessary.
• Healthcare's complexity requires non-linear system approaches, not rigid goal-setting.