| Engineering Patient Safety in Radiation Oncology: University of North Carolina's Pursuit for High Reliability and Value Creation Subjects: Economics Finance Business & Industry; Medicine Dentistry Nursing & Allied Health; Business Management and Accounting; Medicine; Oncology; Public & Nonprofit Management; Because radiation is a central curative and palliative therapy for many patients, it is essential to have safe and efficient systems for planning and delivering radiation therapy. Factors such as rapid technological advances, financial reorganization, an aging population, and evolving societal expectations, however, may be compromising our ability Lawrence Marks was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He studied chemical engineering at Cooper Union and obtained his MD from the University of Rochester. He did his residency training in radiation oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and then served on the faculty of Duke University for 19 years. There, he studied radiation-induced normal tissue injury and became interested in human factors engineering and patient safety. In 2008, he moved to the University of North Carolina to become the Dr. Sidney K. Simon Distinguished Professor of Oncology Research and the chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology. Over the last six years, he and Dr. Mazur and others have been systematically applying engineering principles from high-reliability and value creation organizations to improve safety. In his clinical work, he has particular interest in the care of patients with cancers of the lung or breast. He has been active in ASTRO (American Society for Radiation Oncology) and currently serves on its Board of Directors as the chairman of the Clinical Affairs and Quality Council. He lives with his wife of 29 years, Caryn Hertz, in Chapel Hill. They have three sons, none of whom is planning a career in medicine. |