Is hospital patient care becoming safer? A conversation with Lucian Leape. Interview by Peter I. Buerhaus.

According to Lucian Leape, patient safety in hospitals is improving, and it is now possible to get to a level of zero defects. Growing recognition of the need for team training, use of trigger tools, improving the competency of physicians, and full disclosure and compensation to injured patients exemplify positive developments. Yet formidable barriers remain, including separatism in how doctors, nurses, and pharmacists learn; inadequate instruction in communication and team-building skills; poorly developed quality and safety curricula; lack of leadership among CEOs and hospital boards; physician apathy; absence of effective systems for accountability; and failure to believe in the possibility of eliminating medical errors and injuries.