Wise medical director makes a point of eliminating preventable medical errors

Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one's own store.

Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.

Therefore in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots have been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first. Our own flags should be substituted for those of the enemy, and the chariots mingled and used in conjunction with ours. The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept. This is called, using the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.

In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns. Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.

From "Sun Tzu on the Art of War - The Oldest Military Treatise in the World"

Translated from the Chinese By Lionel Giles, M.A. (1910)
 

Discussion:

It was not easy to translate this last part of the second chapter, but they made senses when they were translated in the contexts of: preventing medical errors; preventive health intervension; improving emergency department throughput utilising inpatient facilities; and health reform by performance innovation. For the impact of preventable medical errors, the reference was the famous "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System" by the US Institute of Medicine.

 

Translation:

Hence a wise medical director makes a point of eliminating preventable medical errors. The deaths from preventable medical errors may reach tens of thousands cases and the total cost incurred may reach tens of billions dollars.

Now in order to fill the bed, our staff must be assigned to a patient; that there may be advantage from freeing beds, they must have their rewards.

Therefore in emergency treatment, when ten or more beds are taken from high dependency units  those should be awarded who took the first. ER patients should be transferred to beds from the units and new patients should be admitted. The captured beds should be carefully treated and kept. This is called, using inpatient facilities to enlarge emergency room capacity.

In health reform, let your great object be performance innovation, not lengthy campaigns. Thus it may be known that the leader of hospitals is the director of the people's welfare, the person on whom it depends whether the nation's health system shall be in peace or in peril.

Ray Murakami