The authors, who include both healthcare professionals and nuclear industry risk management specialists, state that healthcare organizations can improve and sustain safety performance by learning from the U.S. Department of Energy nuclear weapons program. The defense nuclear industry established a framework for minimizing errors and improving safety. Based on this framework, the authors propose seven guiding principles for a patient safety management system for healthcare:
1. Leadership commitment is essential for creating a culture of safety.
2. Everyone is responsible for safety.
3. Empower governing bodies to create and enforce safety policies.
4. Eliminate preventable harm.
5. Establish a universal, uniform approach for safety management.
6. Mandate reporting of safety issues, errors and near misses.
7. Cultivate learning as part of the organizational mentality.
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