The Pitch: Patient Safety’s Next Generation (2024) is an insightful documentary that reveals some of the major advances happening now in medicine, and the long road ahead before they can be implemented universally. Mike Eisenberg released a documentary in 2019, To Err Is Human: A Patient Safety Documentary, and in many ways, The Pitch serves as the sequel to that original story. Eisenberg is uniquely positioned to explore these topics around patient safety due to his late father’s, John M. Eisenberg, significant contributions to pioneering research in this field.

To Err unveiled the serious issues that led to the US medical care system’s mistakes being the third leading cause of death in the country. The Pitch explores how new technologies and innovative pioneers hope to improve patient safety in the medical field. Through machine learning, control centers within hospitals, and even applying commonly used social media algorithms in a new customized way to recognize patterns for concern in patients, technology can go a long way to solving the problem.

The Pitch Delivers A Strong Clear Narrative

As with any good documentary, The Pitch lays out its thesis at the beginning, introducing several experts to drive the claims home. As a medical documentary, it is especially important for these claims to be backed up and have strong sources, which Eisenberg includes effectively and seamlessly. As the film progresses, the story begins to zero in on a few individuals who are spearheading change in the space of medical errors and utilizing technology to find simple, but difficult-to-spot patterns and causes for concern.

The Pitch
explores how new technologies and innovative pioneers hope to improve patient safety in the medical field.

It’s clear that Eisenberg has a real passion for this topic, and the connection to his late father’s research being the reason to continue that legacy makes perfect sense. Eisenberg has done a tremendous job finding experts in the field and compelling testimonials to clearly show the medical system has some significant needs for improvement. And while this can be a scary notion, with errors being a leading cause of death in America, the solutions are not nearly as difficult to find as one might assume.

However, it also highlights the frustratingly slow, and potentially misguided process that hinders these innovations from being applied. When it comes to medicine, everything needs to be vigorously tested before it can be applied, but installing a new app, introducing additional checks, and wiring up the monitors to a computer that can track data across the hospital is not necessarily something that could cause any potential harm or new risk to patients. It is potentially expensive, and that creates an issue with applying these new technologies quickly.

The Pitch Highlights Failings In The Medical System Beyond Simple Errors

While To Err was able to convey how simple mistakes can be made, and the various elements that could introduce new risks, The Pitch exposes a more sinister threat in the system — money. Despite hospitals being a source of life-altering and frequently life-saving treatments, many of these services revolve around money and profit. One of the biggest takeaways from The Pitch, which Eisenberg tries to highlight, is the fact that these advances are being held back by the need to create an appealing pitch for investors.

The Pitch
drives deeper to the core of the problem, making its argument in a clear, concise, and undeniably powerful way.

Yes, there are plenty of people who see these errors and wish for them to be reduced, and there are hardworking, compassionate people at all levels, but there is also a bureaucracy that holds up progress. Eisenberg exposes a rapidly developing field of cutting-edge science and the reality that brings this progression to a standstill unless it adds to the bottom line. For this reason, it’s easy to be frustrated by the subject of the documentary, but it’s also a vital piece of filmmaking that gets to the heart of a bigger issue.

Like many other great documentaries, The Pitch is not satisfied with simply showing the surface level of the problem, nor is it fulfilled when it reveals possible solutions. The Pitch drives deeper to the core of the problem, making its argument in a concise and undeniably powerful way. Thanks to the inclusion of empathetic figures driving the story, and Eisenberg’s sharp vision, The Pitch excels as a documentary, and it easily stands out as a powerful call to action for change within a faltering system.

The Pitch: Patient Safety’s Next Generation is now available to watch on demand.