Safety of Patients Isolated for Infection Control

Abstract

Patient safety has emerged as an important health care issue because of the consequences of iatrogenic injuries.¹ Preventable injuries result largely from system failures, not from individual inadequacy.^2-5 Human factors research in nonmedical settings (eg, aviation) suggests that people tend to take the path of least effort; hence, demanding greater vigilance from providers of medical care may not result in meaningful safety improvement.^2,3 Instead, redesigning faulty systems appears to be a more promising way to reduce human error.¹