Improving Patient Care Can Set Your Brain on Fire
Authors: Sankey V. Williams
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2005)

Editorials16 August 2005Improving Patient Care Can Set Your Brain on FireSankey V. Williams, MDSankey V. Williams, MDFrom the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-143-4-200508160-00013 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail When I was an intern and resident, I was learning so much so fast that I sometimes felt my brain was on fire. One thing I learned was that much of what was known about good medical care was not being used. I was providing care to people whose problems were avoidable. My teachers in medical school taught me how to prevent these things, and the textbooks were absolutely clear that achieving this goal was possible, but there they were every day—unnecessary catastrophes. I concluded that having medical knowledge about how to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease is not enough.... References1. Sox HC. Improving patient care [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2003;138:996. [PMID: 12809457] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Choudhry NK, Fletcher RH, Soumerai SB. Systematic review: the relationship between clinical experience and quality of health care. Ann Intern Med. 2005;142:260-73. [PMID: 15710959] LinkGoogle Scholar3. Asch SM, McGlynn EA, Hogan MM, Hayward RA, Shekelle P, Rubenstein L, et al. Comparison of quality of care for patients in the Veterans Health Administration and patients in a national sample. Ann Intern Med. 2004;141:938-45. [PMID: 15611491] LinkGoogle Scholar4. Iezzoni LI, O'Day BL, Killeen M, Harker H. Communicating about health care: observations from persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. Ann Intern Med. 2004;140:356-62. [PMID: 14996677] LinkGoogle Scholar5. Berwick DM. My right knee. Ann Intern Med. 2005;142:121-5. [PMID: 15657160] LinkGoogle Scholar6. Huddleston JM, Long KH, Naessens JM, Vanness D, Larson D, Trousdale R, et al. Medical and surgical comanagement after elective hip and knee arthroplasty: a randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2004;141:28-38. [PMID: 15238368] LinkGoogle Scholar7. Higashi T, Shekelle PG, Adams JL, Kamberg CJ, Roth CP, Solomon DH, et al. Quality of care is associated with survival in vulnerable older patients. Ann Intern Med. 2005;143:274-81. LinkGoogle Scholar8. Poses RM, Smith WR, McClish DK, Huber EC, Clemo FL, Schmitt BP, et al. Physicians' survival predictions for patients with acute congestive heart failure. Arch Intern Med. 1997;157:1001-7. [PMID: 9140271] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Walter LC, Brand RJ, Counsell SR, Palmer RM, Landefeld CS, Fortinsky RH, et al. Development and validation of a prognostic index for 1-year mortality in older adults after hospitalization. JAMA. 2001;285:2987-94. [PMID: 11410097] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Christakis NA, Iwashyna TJ. Attitude and self-reported practice regarding prognostication in a national sample of internists. Arch Intern Med. 1998;158:2389-95. [PMID: 9827791] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Sankey V. Williams, MDAffiliations: From the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.Disclosures: None disclosed.Current Author Address: Sankey V. Williams, MD, University of Pennsylvania, 1220 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoQuality of Care Is Associated with Survival in Vulnerable Older Patients Takahiro Higashi , Paul G. Shekelle , John L. Adams , Caren J. Kamberg , Carol P. Roth , David H. Solomon , David B. Reuben , Lillian Chiang , Catherine H. MacLean , John T. Chang , Roy T. Young , Debra M. Saliba , and Neil S. Wenger Metrics Cited byMinimum geriatric screening tools to detect common geriatric problemsPlace de l’erreur médicale dans le système de soins 16 August 2005Volume 143, Issue 4Page: 305-306KeywordsBrainChartsElderlyHealth care qualityHospitalizationsPatientsQuality improvementQuality indicatorsSafetyVeteran care ePublished: 16 August 2005 Issue Published: 16 August 2005 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2005 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...