The Biggest Medical Device: The Modern Hospital and How It Works

Harvard HMS

The modern hospital is an extraordinarily complex environment comprising numerous interacting systems designed to facilitate safe, effective, and efficient medical care. While almost all physicians will spend part of their careers practicing within the hospital, few have more than a rudimentary understanding of the physical systems and infrastructure that support their work. Often, it is only when these systems malfunction or fail that we fully realize the extent of our dependence on our…