Five System Barriers to Achieving Ultrasafe Health Care

View larger version (32K): [in a new window]   Figure 1. Average rate per exposure of catastrophes and associated deaths in various industries and human activities. The size of the box represents the range of risk in which a given barrier is active. Reduction of risk beyond the maximum range of a barrier presupposes crossing this barrier. Shaded boxes represent the 5 system barriers. ASA = American Society of Anesthesiologists.

View larger version (39K): [in a new window]   Figure 2. A strategic view of safety in health care. A 2-tiered system of medicine may result from the distinction between a limited number of clinical domains that can achieve ultrasafety and sectors in which a certain level of risk is inherent. HRO = high-reliability organization.