Although the numbers are staggering and the challenges great, this national healthcare crisis is solvable—and fixing it has become a personal mission for John Byrnes, MD, and Susan Teman, RN.

Byrnes and Teman have a proven track record in helping hospitals and health systems transform into high-reliability organizations that aim to deliver error-free care at an affordable cost. In The Safety Playbook: A Healthcare Leader’s Guide to Building a High-Reliability Organization, they lay out their process for building a safety program that can eradicate preventable medical errors.

Written in a clear, conversational style, the book applies to all types of healthcare organizations and speaks to leaders across the spectrum—from board members and C-suite executives to clinical leaders; managers; and staff of quality, safety, and risk management departments. Readers of The Safety Playbook will:

• Review the current rate of medical errors and explore proven solutions, including high reliability
• Discover how transparency about errors and their causes makes a successful safety program possible
• Learn how developing internal safety experts saves time and money
• Examine safety tools and practices used effectively in high-reliability industries
• Understand why communication is the top cause of medical errors and how to improve it
• Explore guidelines used in other healthcare organizations that create a culture of safety
• Study a sample project plan and timeline for implementing a safety program