TO ERR IS HUMAN: A Patient Safety Documentary

Washington Patient Safety Coalition, in partnership with the UW Center for Health Sciences Interprofessional Education, Research and Practice & UW Medicine invites you to a FREE screening of the film To Err Is Human.

While the event is free, registration is mandatory! Attendance is limited to 200 attendees. RSVP at the Register button on this page. One registration max per person to allow us to get an accurate head count and contact all registrants with helpful details.

About the Film:

The #3 leading cause of death in the US is its own health care system, with medical mistakes leading to as many as 440,000 preventable deaths every year. Directed by the son of late patient safety pioneer, To Err Is Human is an in-depth documentary about this silent epidemic and those working behind the scenes to create a new age of patient safety.

Through interviews with leaders in healthcare, footage of real-world efforts leading to safer care, and one family’s compelling journey from tragedy to triumph, the film provides a unique look at our health care system’s ongoing fight against preventable harm.

As a topic that’s often overlooked or glossed over in medical curriculums and trainings, patient safety’s importance being highlighted through efforts like this film is an extremely important way of filling this gap. After all, we are all patients, and we all deserve to expect safe, quality treatment in every care setting, any time we seek medical help.

Notes from Film Director, Mike Eisenberg:

Mission: Our mission is to bring patient safety back into the national discussion through the power of documentary storytelling. Screenings and the discussions that follow will be leveraged into tangible improvements for the health care system in the United States through accountability, policy changes and patient engagement. Our ongoing screening campaign with hospitals, universities, and organizations will create momentum for our public release via on-demand platforms in late Fall 2018. The main goal of the film is to showcase solutions that are easy to implement and would dramatically improve the quality of health care. While access to care is a vital flashpoint in America, it is equally important to ensure the quality of that care is improving, and not actually causing unnecessary harm or death.

Director’s Statement: This topic in particular holds a personal connection to me as the son of patient safety pioneer, the late Dr. John M. Eisenberg. Before he passed away in 2002, my father’s work in this field led to a national discussion on medical mistakes and he was the driving force behind federal efforts to improve patient safety. Through this film, we hope to carry on his legacy by providing a productive look at the reliability of our health care system and how we can do better.

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