The Many Worlds of Patient Safety in Anesthesiology

Editorial| November 2024 The Many Worlds of Patient Safety in Anesthesiology David M. Gaba, M.D. David M. Gaba, M.D. 1Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California; and Simulation Center, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0657-5396 Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Author and Article Information This editorial accompanies the article on p. 835. Accepted for publication August 7, 2024. Address correspondence to Dr. Gaba: Anesthesiology November 2024, Vol. 141, 819–821. https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000005190 Connected Content Article: Perspectives on Anesthesia and Perioperative Patient Safety: Past, Present, and Future Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Search Site Citation David M. Gaba; The Many Worlds of Patient Safety in Anesthesiology. Anesthesiology 2024; 141:819–821 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000005190 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll PublicationsAnesthesiology Search Advanced Search Topics: patient safety The Special Article by Kanjia et al.1 in this issue of Anesthesiology provides an interesting analysis of the role of various theories of safety, drawn mostly from those primarily created for nonmedical arenas. Some of these theories have been adapted in part by various medical organizations and institutions, mostly addressing experienced personnel and their work. This article extends notions of other authors about ordering the theories, promoting a climb from Safety 0, which is aimed at clinicians' capabilities; to Safety 1, in part using "high reliability organization theory"; Safety 2, which entails largely concentrating not on "errors" but on how things work well; and Safety 3, which concentrates more on the entire "system." The notion of a strict hierarchy of theories is relatively new, although the hierarchy presented here acknowledges that beyond presenting novel issues, safety does require merging the levels. Overall, the authors' analysis is useful, especially... You do not currently have access to this content.