Why Hospitals Should Fly: The Ultimate Flight Plan to Patient Safety and Quality Care,   ISBN:9780974386065

Customer Rating: 

A gripping read, where I learned a great deal about aviation safety which applies well to medicine because of the human factor. As a nurse, patient safety is incredibly important to me, but I understand my human fallibility and the fact that any one of us in medicine can make a mistake. John clearly describes how to minimize the possibility of error, but as in the aviation industry, it will take many years to change the culture of doctors in particular. The CEO of my hospital has my copy of the book!

Customer Rating: 

I have just recently left my long term practice in pulmonary and critical care medicine to start up and head an intensivist program (full time critical care physicians available in an ICU) in a hospital in California. I know medicine primarily from the inpatient and hospital view since that was the basis of my practice, and I have been until now a hospital medical director, and a critical care director. In the last few years I have taken an MBA in Healthcare and I am grounded in business operational views.

I preparing for this program I have read widely in the quality literature. I came across this book on Amazon. The title was intriguing as I had always admired the precision and professionalism of flight crews and wondered why Hospital medicine couldn't be similar. The aviation approach to quality is often mentioned in the literature, and physicians are frequently demoralized in lectures which point out the difference between our 2 sigma track record and aviation's 6 sigma. The best run show in the hospital has been with Anesthesia who picked up the ball over 10 years ago and have shown a dramatic improvement in quality.

I found the beginning of the book to be a little odd with the type of story-telling the author uses to get his information across. By chapter 3, however, I was well into it and found that the book reads easily. The author is able to add emotional content to his story, both to underscore his points and, I believe, to aid in recollection. His medical and aviation stories are excellent and carry the book forward. I even enjoyed his Star Trek allusions.

I was particularly impressed with his description of the workings of the idealized ICU and the OR. His understanding of physician behavior and motivations is outstanding. He also understands nurses and CEO's.

His ICU picture is similar to my vision of a great ICU, but his is more clearly thought out. I feel that his discussion has helped my clarify my thinking regarding staff interaction. I particularly appreciated his description of the little red towel worn by nurses when they are handling medications, a sign to let others know that they should not be distracted during their performance of what needs to be understood as a dangerous duty which needs their full attention. Discussions of the Swiss cheese method of quality and issues of normalized deviance are also excellent.

I found his discussion of revamping nursing functions on the floors a bit utopian, but that I admit is beyond my competency.

I very highly recommend this book for all professionals and administrators involved in hospital care. My copy will be on the ICU nurse administrator's desk in the morning.

Customer Rating: 

Excellent way to present well documented information on some problems that plague health care today. Also is a great way to suggest changes rather than just presenting and excoriating the problems as is too often the tendencies these days. Mr Nance also recognizes that solutions to problems will be local and that a "cookie cutter" approach will not produce the desired results in each situation. I would strongly recommend this book!

Customer Rating: 

The best book about why hospitals should fly!

Very Utopian, but it shows a vision of an alternative to current chaotic and dangerous healthcare systems failing mainly due to poor communication between staff and systems which neither serve the patients or the staff.

Highlights the danger of doctors who are taught that they are to be infallible and cannot be contradicted by anyone, ever. Very good book, but definately not enough examples from the aviation industry!! More example from nuclear power wouldn't go amiss either.

Customer Rating: 

This book is a must read for hospital administrators, doctors, nurses, and anyone involved in hospital healthcare. Our hospital has adopted these procedures and is working toward the cultural change that is required for this to work. It is so good that our CEO has said "Get on board or find some other place to work." We are in the process of adopting aviation safety practices in our hospital to catch errors before someone gets hurt. This works and I am willing to bet we become a national standard of healthcare within the next decade.