In the face of a dramatic increase in the volume of commercial air traffic in the 1990s, that industry has kept improving its safety record. Commercial pilots do not fly alone. They are members of a coordinated group of professionals trained to work as a team, especially in emergency situations. Consequently, they're less able to learn from peers or share experiences and new information. Most medical care is fragmented.
Professionals struggle to work together in well-oiled teams.
Most commercial pilots have to pass regular examinations to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. They undergo recertification, including testing in flight simulators, to ensure that they can handle a wide variety of flying conditions and emergencies. To stay current with rapidly changing care practices, physicians and other health professionals must sift through a mountain of medical articles that grows bigger by the day. The inability for a solo-practice physician to keep up with new information has led to wide variations in medical practices based on when and where a physician was trained and what community she practices in, rather than on current science. The data are used to identify accident and near-miss trends.