Building Resilient Complex Systems
Ashgate Publishing has released the latest in its Resilience Engineering Perspectives Series, Remaining Sensitive to the Possibility of Failure, which compiles papers from the November 2007 2nd Symposium on Resilience Engineering in Juan-Les-Pins France. These newly-evolving concepts of resilience and resilience engineering define "success" based on the ability of organizations, groups and individuals to anticipate the changing shape of risk before failures and harm occur. Resilience Engineering: Concepts and Precepts was the first volume to explore this groundbreaking new development in safety and risk management.
     The 3rd International Symposium on Resilience Engineering, scheduled for November 2008, will feature recent research and writing on resilience and engineering resilient systems.

Strasbourg Keynote Probes Adverse Event Investigation
CTL's Richard Cook gave one of two main keynote presentations at the International Conference on Health Systems Ergonomics and Patient Safety in Strasbourg, France on June 25th, 2008.  His presentation, "What are we missing?  Results of MEDCAS, the National Healthcare Safety Board Demonstration Project" described what a team of technically-qualified independent investigators can learn about adverse events that in-house investigations miss. His message was based on the CTL's recent "Medical Event Data Collection and Analysis Service" project funded by the VHA Health Foundation and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Improving Healthcare Team Communication
CTL's Christopher Nemeth edited the recent Ashgate Publishing release Improving Healthcare Team Communication that features the work of leading researchers in healthcare communication. Their insights from 'sharp end' operator research in high-hazard sectors shed light on the performance of cognitive tasks in groups and across healthcare organizations. 
    "Here a cluster of the world's experts extract lessons from both domains that those who seek to improve patient safety will find fascinating and useful." --Lucian L. Leape, MD, Harvard School of Public Health, USA
    "..should be required reading for those seeking to improve patient safety." --Peter J. Pronovost, The Johns Hopkins University
    " a 'must' for all with an interest in human factors in healthcare and for those who wish to learn about how people communicate in other domains." --Bill Runciman, University of Adelaide, and Australian Patient Safety Foundation

Technomania!
Bewildered by medical equipment interfaces? You're not alone! Bruce McCall introduces the latest gizmo designed to maximize your performance through information technology. (more...)

2008

2007