High Reliability Organizational Principles

For health care facilities to function properly it takes a lot of work. It is so much more than telling staff what to do or how things should go. “No single feature or success characteristic can stand alone to produce high-quality, high-value systemic results.” (Nelson, et al, 2007, p. 20) Both Spath and Nelson, et. al. have their definitions of what characteristics it takes to become a high functioning organization. Throughout this paper I will discuss both the similarities and differences between the elements both of these authors believe in. Also, I will discuss some of the challenges that any organization will face if they were to adopt either the high reliability organization principles or the six principles for safety in clinical microsystem. Both sets of principles can help an organization to improve on patient safety tremendously when applied. The six principles for safety in clinical microsystems cover a broad range of characteristics that focus on both the patient and the staff. With a happy work force it enables better patient care. High reliability organization principles are more based on preventing errors before they can occur. By changing the way health care professionals think about patient safety and the
al. (2007) are very similar in some aspects and in others very different. Both are committed in improving overall organization function, bettering performance results, exceeding in patient care, and interdependence in staff. Spath’s five basic principles of high reliability organization focuses on how the facility should operate. Concentrating on the fact that failure can happen and if it does what steps should follow are all laid out in the five principles. Nelson, et. al. principles of high performing clinical microsystems on the other hand, focuses on the staff and their education/training. This set of principles believes in selective hiring and picking a group of individuals that have a desire to purse