The Institute of Medicine estimates that up to 400,000 Americans are killed by preventable medical errors per year. Better patient monitoring, smart alarm systems, advanced treatment algorithms, and data analytics are key technologies that can help to reduce this number. Attempts to build better systems run into common problems including the difficulty of integrating into existing workflows, manufacturer-specific silos, and a lack of data to help drive improvements. Solving these problems requires people who can connect things together in new and unlikely ways, holistically examine processes that involve both technology and human workflows, and find creative ways to get things done. This talk will discuss why healthcare can be a difficult place to be an engineer, some possible reasons that clinicians may be unwilling to implement your perfectly reasonable solutions, and how a hacker mindset is essential for improving the safety and effectiveness of healthcare.