The Pitch Documentary: Patient Safety’s Next Generation (2024) is the follow-up documentary to To Err Is Human: A Patient Safety Documentary (2019) by Mike Eisenberg. Curiosity led Mike to this latest film project, a documentary that focuses on avoidable medical mistakes. Medical mistakes are estimated to be responsible for 444,000 deaths each year in the U.S., the third leading cause of death. To Err is Human was the culmination of 3+ years of research and interviews by Tall Tale Productions. Together, they conducted over 40 hours of on-camera interviews with experts from across the healthcare spectrum to gain a clear view of the current state of patient safety in medicine in the United States. This HealthySimulation.com article by Teresa Gore, PhD, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, CHSE-A, FSSH, FAAN, highlights The Pitch: Patient Safety Documentary to provide healthcare with an optimistic outlook for how to improve patient safety and upcoming screenings.
The Pitch Documentary: Patient Safety’s Next Generation Hits Theaters
The Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF) is proud to announce the 2024 Release Tour of The Pitch: Patient Safety’s Next Generation hitting theaters i September 4-17, 2024. The JHF funded The Pitch to raise awareness of the opportunity for technological innovation to impact patient safety. The screenings were organized in partnership with Tall Tale Productions. After each screening, Mike Eisenberg, the film’s director, will moderate a panel discussion with each locale’s patient safety and tech experts. Tickets to attend are free and can be reserved.
- Chicago, IL September 4th, 7-9PM: Davis Theater
- New York, NY September 5th, 7-9PM: Angelika Film Center & Café
- Washington DC September 11th 7-9PM : Landmark’s E Street Cinema
- Boston, MA September 12th 6:30-8:30PM: Coolidge Corner Theatre
- Palo Alto, CA (Silicon Valley)September 17th 7-9PM: Landmark’s Aquarius Theatre
If you cannot attend one of these screenings, the film will be released on streaming platforms September 17, 2024, on World Patient Safety Day.
- Anyone can pre-order the film now on iTunes and AppleTV+.
- The film will also be available starting September 17, 2024, on Amazon Prime Video, VUDU, Google Play, YouTube, and Vimeo.
- Over a dozen other screenings are also being hosted by hospitals, universities and non-profits all over the country so check to see if “The Pitch” is coming to a venue near you by visiting www.thepitchdocumentary.com.
The Pitch: Patient Safety’s Next Generation
With one in every four patients admitted to the hospital experiencing an adverse event and approximately 25% of these being preventable, The Pitch Documentary explores technological advances to detect and prevent potential harm to patients in healthcare settings and showcases the importance of collaboration. The collaboration required to bring about necessary change must occur inside and outside the medical arena to explore creative ways innovators bring technology to health care. Through expert interviews on recent real-world technology breakthroughs, the film provides unique solutions to the current upsurge in medical errors. The film highlights one young innovator’s journey into the frontiers of medicine to provide insight and a different perspective from outside healthcare. The Pitch offers optimism for the future of patient safety.
If the patient safety solution were easy, the solution would have already been identified and implemented. However, the problem with safe patient care is multifactorial. Human factors, gaps in knowledge, lack of standardization, technological gaps, and an unknown factor culminate in an adverse event. This can be visualized as a piece of Swiss cheese. An adverse event can occur when any of the safety barriers fail individually. Through expert interviews, real-world technology solutions, and one young innovator’s journey into the layered business of medicine, The Pitch showcases the immense effort required to break into the healthcare industry with new innovations and the importance of collaboration between those inside and outside the medical space.
View the LEARN CE/CME Platform Webinar Saving Lives Systematically: Medical Simulation as a Patient Safety Tool in Healthcare to learn more!
Technology’s New Opportunities
When compared to a disease outbreak, patient safety errors would be considered an epidemic. The solutions healthcare has implemented to this point have made progress. However, too many adverse events and deaths continue to occur. The improvements have been good, but more is needed. The healthcare culture should keep good from becoming detrimental to the best. Disruptive innovations should marry the best of humans and machines for the most significant impact on patient care and safety. With the recent advances in technology (virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence), the time is now to truly impact patient outcomes through safe, quality patient care.
The ability to learn and keep abreast of the rapid, ever-changing world of health and technology discovery is so vast for a human without the aid of technology. The incorporation of technology must occur in the education of healthcare providers, continued professional development of healthcare providers, and systems integration to standardized operations in healthcare systems. The time for innovation and disruption in healthcare is now.
Disruptive innovation turns into a business. Expect many failures. However, the few that succeed will change everything. The Pitch is motivational for those who work within the healthcare education and patient centered space. This film demonstrates several examples of AI and VR-based technology for clinical simulation-based staff that have reached integration into healthcare. These examples encourage us to examine what roadblocks are in place for this type of technology to be in the hands that need the technology the most. As healthcare simulation educators, we need to consider how clinical simulation can be a vehicle to move through these roadblocks and assist both clinical staff and patients.
More About the Producer – Mike Eisenberg
Some perspective and background are provided on Mike Eisenberg and his draw to patient safety. Mike is the son of a physician, Dr. John Eisenberg, who has a passion for patient engagement and a culture of safety. This perspective has enabled Mike to infuse this passion into his films by sharing the success stories of others. Instead of focusing on the horror stories that come with preventable harm in medicine, Mike brings an anecdotal approach that leaves his audience with tangible ideas that can be implemented immediately.
Mike was a professional baseball player who was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 2006 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. Mike combines his baseball experience with the important lessons of teamwork and communication in every speaking engagement. He believes this is paramount to understanding how to improve patient safety.
Mike compares patient safety to the error rate in baseball. What is an acceptable rate for patient error? Things to ponder: you have a family member in the hospital. Are you willing to accept the one in four adverse effects if your family member is the one? As healthcare providers, we need to continue to strive for perfection, look for new ways to improve patient care, and reach for zero errors. Healthcare needs to keep good from becoming detrimental to the best for patient care outcomes and safety.
The Pitch: Patient Safety’s Next Generation is a must-see documentary for all patient care stakeholders and innovators. This film reminds us that we all have a part in patient safety and should reach outside our comfort zone for disruptive innovation to improve adverse patient events.
