Eliminating preventable harm by defining it

As patient safety, infection control, and quality improvement professionals continue toward their “path to zero”—as in zero hospital-acquired infections, zero medication errors, and zero wrong-site surgeries—at some point or another, they usually stumble upon resistance. The argument against “chasing zero,” as it’s sometimes called, is that some form of harm is bound to occur in a hospital—it’s just the cost of doing business, and it’s unfortunate but inevitable.

This is an excerpt from members-only content. Please log in or become a member to access the full content.