By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    photo of hands with blue veins
    8 Proven Tips on Finding Difficult Veins
    November 12, 2021
    tips for getting over the pandemic blues
    4 Proven Ways to Get Over the Pandemic Blues
    February 22, 2022
    medical industry innovations
    How is CNC Machining Transforming the Medical Industry?
    June 2, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Doctors on Google: Manhattan Research Survey 2012
    July 23, 2012
    HealthCare’s Need for Transparency Goes Far Beyond Pricing
    December 10, 2012
    Medicare Payments to Providers Are Carved, Sliced and Chopped by Sequestration
    March 25, 2013
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Collaborative Learning: Ebola
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Global Healthcare > Collaborative Learning: Ebola
BusinessGlobal HealthcareHospital AdministrationNewsPublic Health

Collaborative Learning: Ebola

Ken Cohn
Last updated: October 7, 2014 8:00 am
Ken Cohn
Share
4 Min Read
emergency room
SHARE

emergency roomI entitled this post Collaborative Learning: Ebola because I empathize with the Presbyterian Hospital ED physician who sent the patient home initially. Unfortunately, this is how we learn to take a better history, do a more complete physical exam, and improve our diagnostic accuracy, by making mistakes, owning up to our shortcomings, and resolving to do better the next time.

emergency roomI entitled this post Collaborative Learning: Ebola because I empathize with the Presbyterian Hospital ED physician who sent the patient home initially. Unfortunately, this is how we learn to take a better history, do a more complete physical exam, and improve our diagnostic accuracy, by making mistakes, owning up to our shortcomings, and resolving to do better the next time.

We all wish that we could get everything we need from guidelines, but the best guidelines are dynamic documents that improve in real time as we gather experience. As Carl Taylor wrote in Disaster Preparedness for Healthcare Professionals:

Disasters are the product of choices that are politically, environmentally, socially, and economically driven. Disasters occur when a natural or man-made event comes into contact with these choices. Thus,we can reduce or avoid the impact of a disaster through our planning, choices, decisions and actions.

More Read

Video Player is Updated With New Videos!
Patient-Centered Approach to Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Planning (podcast)
HealthKeeperz President Reflects on 50 Years of Healthcare
What Low Income Patient’s Want From Their Experience With Providers!
Driving Demand for Vaccinations

Collaborative Learning: Hazard Vulnerability Analysis

One such opportunity comes during the creation of a hazard vulnerability analysis (HVA). HVA is a tool, which allows us to consider our risk exposure and modify our planning and risk management before events occur.

We must overcome the 4 M’s of flawed HVAs:

  • Motive: facilities often create HVAs to check off boxes, not to reduce exposure proactively
  • Myth: Myths lower estimated risk because an event has not happened before or  for many years. Montana was relatively free of tornadoes until 2010, when in the first seven months, over a dozen tornadoes swept the state. Wind, combined with heavy rains pushed a 5-foot wall of water in the direction of Billings Clinic Hospital. The myth that snow was the only natural disaster in Montana is now put to rest.
  • Magnitude: Even if an event is possible, its magnitude is downplayed because of insurance costs, remediation costs, or simply an honest belief that “nothing bad ever happens here”. The earthquake in Haiti was followed by volcanic eruptions in Iceland, and exceeded by the flooding of the Indus river, leaving 15 to 20 million Pakistani people homeless.
  • Management: Although optimism and faith are important, organizations should use the HVA to question planning assumptions.  We need more than engineers and security police to participate in disaster planning, i.e. physicians, nurses, and healthcare administrators all have a vital role. Lives are at stake.

Finally, a plea to the news media and Congress: we need to celebrate learning. Learning is a vital part of disaster planning and thus never failure.

As always, I welcome your input to improve healthcare collaboration where you work.  Please send me your comments and suggestions for improvement.

Kenneth H. Cohn
© 2013, all rights reserved

Disclosure:
I have not received any compensation for writing this content.  I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

© Healthcare Collaboration. All Rights Reserved.

ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com

TAGGED:CollaborationEbola
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

holiday health and safety
Home HealthPublic HealthWellness

Deck the Halls Without a Trip to the ER

December 24, 2013

Healthy Gadgets For Boomers, Seniors & Caregivers

January 23, 2013
startups-2011-2013
BusinessTechnology

Recent Clinical/Technology Distribution of Medtech Startups

May 27, 2013

Should We Care If Doctors Drop Medicare?

August 2, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?