title: Lucian Leape on patient safety in U.S. hospitals. Interview by Peter I Buerhaus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe and discuss the status of patient safety in U.S. hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Personal interview. This report is part of a series of discussions with a leading expert on patient safety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Some improvements have been made in the past 10 years. But changes have not been adequate. Continuing barriers include the punitive environment in hospitals, physicians' denial of the scope of the problem, lack of national leadership, and lack of systems thinking.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Nashville, TN 37240, USA. Peter.Buerhaus@Vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Lucian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leape
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D015984:Causality; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015279:Organizational Culture; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States