Dr. Leape was a panelist for the Forum’s discussions on Fighting the Clock: How America’s Sleep Deficit is Damaging Longterm Health and Medical Tests.
Lucian L. Leape, MD, is an Adjunct Professor of Health Policy in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Prior to joining the faculty at Harvard in 1988, he was Professor of Surgery and Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine. He is a graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Leape is internationally recognized as a leader of the patient safety movement, starting with the publication in JAMA of his seminal article, Error in Medicine, in 1994. His subsequent research demonstrated the success of the application of systems theory to the prevention of adverse drug events through computerized physician order entry, pharmacist participation on rounds, and reconciliation of medication orders. He has led efforts to improve disclosure and apology after adverse events, reform medical education, and to improve assessment of physician performance.
Dr. Leape was a member of the Institute of Medicine committee that published To Err is Human in 1999 and Crossing the Quality Chasm in 2001. He has published over 140 papers on patient safety and quality of care. In 2004, he received the John Eisenberg Patient Safety Award from the JCAHO and National Quality Forum. In 2006, Modern Healthcare named him as one of the 30 people who have had the most impact on healthcare in the past 30 years. In 2007, the National Patient Safety Foundation established the Lucian Leape Institute to further strategic thinking in patient safety.
