One of the most exciting things about working in patient safety and health care quality is that it’s not solely about advancing science or applying performance improvement methods. It is also about the excitement of being part of a social movement that is changing the culture of medicine—putting patients at the center of everything, sharing(...)
Patient-Centered Care
A difficult conversation: the cost of end-of-life care
Posted by Peter Pronovost | Patient-Centered CareWith all the changes taking place in the health care industry today, there’s no shortage of topics to debate. With this in mind, about a year ago The Wall Street Journal launched an online forum called “The Experts”. The format is simple. Each month a roundtable of health care leaders each share their thoughts on(...)
Mar 4, 2014 3 comments
Patient Safety Summit: Four Years of Advancing the Science
Posted by Peter Pronovost | Measurement of Safety and Quality, Patient-Centered Care, Preventing Patient HarmAt Johns Hopkins Medicine, we recently held our fourth annual Patient Safety Summit, a daylong gathering in which faculty and staff from across our health system share their work to reduce patient harm and foster a culture of safety. The event has quickly become a tradition, with more than 425 participants flocking annually to our(...)
Jul 1, 2013 6 comments
A method to the mystique
Posted by Peter Pronovost | Organizational and Cultural Change, Patient-Centered CareA few months ago, I posted about the pleasure of meeting Horst Schulze, a former Ritz-Carlton executive who created his own ultra-luxury hotel chain based on many of the principles he employed while working for the Ritz-Carlton. It was clear to me that the hospitality industry has something to teach health care about what it(...)
Feb 19, 2013 2 comments
Tuck someone in today
Posted by Peter Pronovost | Patient-Centered CareOne of my colleagues, Nancy, recently shared a surprising experience that she had with her son—one of four children—as she was getting ready to send him off to college. The night before he left, this strapping, six-foot-tall man, who plays football and lacrosse, made an unusual request: He asked his mom to tuck him in to bed. When he(...)
Oct 9, 2012 6 comments
Big news today from the Armstrong Institute
Posted by Peter Pronovost | Designing Safer Systems, Patient-Centered Care, Preventing Patient HarmWe’re pleased to announce that the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has awarded Johns Hopkins’ Armstrong Institute a grant of $8.9 million to design safer care in ICUs. This project will have two overriding aims: to better engage patients—and their family members—as integral parts of the care team; and to use systems engineering methods to(...)
Aug 28, 2012 5 comments
Putting a little Ritz in health care
Posted by Peter Pronovost | Organizational and Cultural Change, Patient-Centered CareRecently, I had an enlightening encounter with Horst Schulze, who led Ritz-Carlton Hotels to national awards and has since opened his own hotel chain, Capella. Hortz gave an informal presentation to members of a program that I’m taking part in, the Baldrige Executive Fellowship, and we continued to talk afterwards. Capella has five ultraluxury hotels(...)
Jul 31, 2012 1 comment
Company churns out burritos, French toast — and inspiration for health care
Posted by Peter Pronovost | Patient-Centered Care, Preventing Patient HarmThis year I am participating in an executive fellowship that is designed to expose leaders in various industries to the Baldrige Framework, a model for organizational excellence. As part of the program, the fellows visit companies that received the coveted Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Recently, we toured(...)
Jul 19, 2012 8 comments
Memorable patients, unforgettable lessons
Posted by Peter Pronovost | Patient-Centered Care, Preventing Patient HarmEvery clinician has encountered patients whose memories stay with them for years. The patients who stick usually are not the ones for whom the clinician made a brilliant diagnosis or provided evidence-based therapies. They are the patients who touched clinicians' hearts, the ones they formed a relationship with, the ones in whom they saw themselves or a loved one—ultimately, the(...)
Jan 9, 2012 1 comment
What I learned from listening to a patient
Posted by Peter Pronovost | Patient-Centered Care, Preventing Patient HarmI was reminded again recently of how important it is to sometimes just sit back and listen to what our patients have to say. Every month, as part of our hospital-wide patient safety efforts, I meet with staff and interview patients, seeking to learn how we can improve the care we provide to them. A(...)
Jan 5, 2012 5 comments