First, Do No Harm Video
Moving the medical community to take action to improve patient safety
Accidents and errors in hospitals are the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, a fact that’s enough to make us ill. In response to this glaring statistic, the Partnership for Patient Safety (P4PS) took on the challenge of catalyzing and cultivating positive change in hospitals’ and doctors’ approaches to patient care. Medical institutions and professionals are notorious for being resistant to change, so Captains needed to create something truly groundbreaking to help drive P4PS’s patient safety initiative.
Captains worked with P4PS and the Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions (RMF) to create a video so captivating that it couldn’t be ignored. Instead of doing a standard (i.e. dull) talking head-style video, we created a riveting drama based on real closed claim files from RMF. The video, titled First, Do No Harm, chronicles the story of a young, late-term pregnant couple who trust a dysfunctional hospital system with their care. By showing how small errors build on each other and lead to tragedy, the video drives home – in a very powerful way – the need to change whole systems and cultures. First, Do No Harm was so moving it literally shook up the medical establishment. Within one year most major hospitals in the United States were using it as a training tool for their front-line caregivers. Today, First, Do No Harm has grown to become an entire series of interactive training films that are considered “must-see” viewing by patient safety leaders. For the staff here at Captains of Industry, nothing is more gratifying than knowing that something we created has actually saved lives.