What EpiPens Can Teach Us about Human Factors and Patient Safety

Last Monday, at the University of Michigan IHI Open School Chapter November Speaker Event, we heard from Dr. John Gosbee, Human Factors Engineer and Healthcare Specialist. He gave us a brief overview of the history of human factors research in health care and also brought in two very exciting demos.



The first demo involved EpiPens, emergency treatment for individuals with severe allergies. Do you know how to use an EpiPen? It turns out, it's not very easy to learn, especially under the stress of saving someone's life! To simulate such an emergency situation, Dr. Gosbee asked us to "save his life" by reading the instructions and delivering the life saving dose of epinephrine correctly while holding our breath!

Read the full recap of our great speaker event, written by Chapter Leader Amy Silverstein, on the University of Michigan IHI Open School Blog!