Beyond the borders: Lessons from various industries adopted in anesthesiology

Abstract

Since the first public demonstration of anaesthesia in Boston, USA which happened around 172 years back, the field of anesthesiology has rapidly progressed, with many developments that have improved the quality and safety of anesthesia care. This has enabled tremendous advances in the surgical disciplines and increasing the life expectancy and quality of life of humans. This is a result of learning and constantly evolving. There are several similarities between healthcare and other industries, though there are several distinguishing characteristics that set it apart from other industries. There are a number of safety and quality improvement measures in healthcare which have been influenced by safety practices in other industries. Anaesthesia has been the leader among the medical specialities in adoption of innovative practices from various industries in an effort to advance patient safety, enhance quality of care, reduce waste & inefficiency, and improve customer service and satisfaction. This article emphasises on learnings from other industries in the recent decades, focusing on aviation, high-reliability organizations, car manufacturing, telecommunication, car racing, entertainment, and retail. Learning and implanting the best practices from these industries can bring about a paradigm shift in health care industry. It has a potential to improve efficiency and make anaesthesia safer than ever before in the history of human kind.