The Patient's Checklist: 10 Simple Hospital Checklists to Keep you Safe, Sane & Organized

Every year, thirty-five million Americans become hospital patients and more than fifty million surgeries are performed. Each of those patients--whatever their resources--confronts the same obstacles to good, safe care.

From a trip to the emergency room to open heart surgery, all patients can experience not just perplexing and impersonal care but serious communication and safety issues that can put them at risk. That's why The Patient's Checklist is so important. It addresses an enormous need, and yet there is no other book available that's like it. Based on firsthand knowledge, Elizabeth Bailey has created ten checklists that provide a simple system for better managing, monitoring, and participating in your hospital care. These checklists can play a big role in guarding against error and promoting compassion in care, so that a patient is not only “cured” but also “healed.”

 

As a producer, director, and vice president of video production for several major record labels, Elizabeth Bailey developed and used checklists to oversee the production of hundreds of music videos. While helping family and friends navigate their hospitalizations, she realized how production checklists could be adapted to successfully manage the complexities of patient care. She is currently completing studies for a Master's in Health Advocacy at Sarah Lawrence College and working part-time as a patient representative at a major teaching hospital. She lives in New York with her husband and son.