Ever since the Institute of Medicine reported that up to 98,000 Americans die each year as the result of medical errors (2000) and observed that our healthcare system suffers from a “chasm” between consistent, high-quality care that is based on the best scientific knowledge available and the care many actually receive (2001), there has been renewed vigor in reducing variation and improving healthcare for all Americans.

Most of us have lived through the Disney experience. To spend a day in a Disney theme park is truly a lesson in optimizing people flow. From the moment visitors arrive at the parking lot to when they return to their rental cars, they are sequentially guided from place to place in a magical orchestration of guides, trams, ticket takers, ride operators, cartoon characters, and food servers.

Patient safety is the optimal goal in healthcare delivery. Patients rely on the fact that their healthcare providers are properly trained on the most recent technology available.

A national clinical outsourcing company prepares for pandemic flu and recognizes that clinicians have responsibilities at home, too.

Since the industry-wide wake-up call prompted by the Institute of Medicine’s landmark report To Err Is Human (2000) and the follow-up report Preventing Medication Errors (2006), patient safety has become one of the foremost concerns in healthcare, with the prevention of medication errors in acute care settings as a key priority.

When consumers have more information, do they indeed make better decisions? With the availability of a variety of magazines and newsletters documenting the best this and the best that, do we as consumers make better decisions for our lives?

In its landmark report, To Err Is Human (2000), The Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 patients die each year as a result of medical errors.

It’s no secret that the current system of healthcare in the United States needs improvement. Costs continue to grow; errors persist in treatment; overall dissatisfaction with availability, responsiveness, and hospital-acquired infections climb.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines system as “a regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole.” As I travel across the country, I realize more and more that America’s healthcare delivery system really isn’t a system.

I am halfway through a 1-month stay in Barcelona, Spain (pinch me). I came for the World Congress meeting at the end of March and will stay through the BMJ/IHI International Forum in late April, followed immediately by a half-day workshop sponsored by the European Society for Quality Healthcare