Book: The Checklist Manifesto

Reading a brief summary of this book caught my attention. The Checklist Manifesto hits on one of those sensitive areas in healthcare…can technology make physicians better? YES.

“Medicine today is so complex that even the sharpest doctors can no longer keep everything they need to know in their heads.” (Atul Gawande)

• Only about ½ of heart attack patients get the best care within the recommended window.
• It takes an average of 17 years for a new treatment to reach even ½ of the patients who would benefit.
• Using a “safe-surgery checklist” reduced the number of complications and deaths by 1/3. (The New England Journal of Medicine)