Health care isn’t the only industry that’s working to protect people in dangerous conditions. Every year at the IHI National Forum, Kathy Duncan leads a trip to the Central Florida Zoo, which has one of North America’s largest collections of venomous snakes. In this video, Duncan goes behind the scenes at the zoo to learn about the staff’s safety procedures for handling snakes. Learn more about designing systems for error-prone humans in our course PS 102: Human Factors and Safety.

Alex James was a runner, like his dad. One day, he collapsed during a run and was hospitalized for five days. He went through lots of tests, but was given a clean bill of health. Then, a month later, he collapsed again, fell into a deep coma, and died. John James, a retired toxicologist at NASA, wrote up his story after speaking to an IHI Open School Chapter. We're now offering it as a case study with discussion questions to spark conversations about patient safety in your Chapter or classroom.

A hospital with a money-back guarantee? It’s not just a crazy idea: Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania is the first health system in the U.S. to offer refunds to dissatisfied patients — and early results show promise. As one executive put it: “It is sad and ironic that a business that has decided to listen to its customers and be responsive and even occasionally refund some money is considered so out-of-the box.” Learn more about efforts to improve the value of health care in QCV 100: An Introduction to Quality, Cost, and Value in Health Care.

 

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