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The Truth About...: Success and Failure in Medicine: Failing Gracefully

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Kevin Fong and Paul Fjeld next to the lunar module

01/08/2016 GMT

Failing Gracefully

Success and Failure in Medicine

BBC World Service - The Truth About..., Success and Failure in Medicine, Failing Gracefully

The role technology plays in high-risk systemsand what it means for healthcare

Dr Kevin Fong explores the role that complex technology plays in high-risk systems and what it means for healthcare.

Dr Kevin Fong concludes his exploration of the boundaries between the medical profession and other industries for valuable lessons that might be of use to us all. 

In this final episode, Kevin talks to people who have spent their lives investigating what it takes to make high-performance, high-reliability systems work safely when lives are on the line. 

Since the days of Project Apollo, people have come to rely more and more heavily upon the digital computer. Whether it is aerospace, the automotive industry, medicine or even the financial sector, technology has become so central to the success of these complex systems, that it has become increasingly more difficult for the human to remain in control when these systems fail. Technology, some argue, is not just replacing us, it is displacing us. 

Is this situation inevitable or is there a way to better protect ourselves from the risks that opaque, complex technological systems create?        

(Photo: Kevin Fong and Paul Fjeld next to Lunar Module 2)

The Truth About...: Success and Failure in Medicine

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Dr Kevin Fong reveals what healthcare can learn from other organisations who succeed and fail.

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The Truth About...

Success and Failure in Medicine

Failing Gracefully

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