High-reliability organizations (HROs) are a significant part of the healthcare industry nowadays. Researchers define high reliability as “the ability of a complex organization delivering high-risk services to achieve and sustain extremely low rates of harm over time” (as cited in Polonsky, 2019, p. 214). Several vital characteristics allow HROs within the healthcare industry to strive for patient safety, with zero harm. Those characteristics are “preoccupation with failure, reluctance to simplify observations, commitment to resilience, and deference to expertise” (Polonsky, 2019, p. 214). Along with other improvement frameworks, high reliability significantly contributes to the medical field, appearing as a model with various tools to support HROs’ intentions.
However, the high-reliability framework has been undergoing crucial changes in the past 30 years. Researchers claim that the healthcare industry representatives started active adoption of the high-reliability mindset at the end of the 20th century. Several critical events happened then, such as Chernobyl nuclear disaster and numerous catastrophes in the aviation industry, significantly increasing the priority of safety (Polonsky, 2019). The great shift of the paradigm for HROs occurred later, at the beginning of the 21st century. Statistics indicate that more than a quarter of a million individuals die every year in the United States due to miscellaneous medical errors (Polonsky, 2019). The data illustrated a dire necessity for improvement, and embracing the HRO framework was the most profitable way to accomplish it. Thus, investigators, scientists, and clinicians initiated revving advances in patient safety, executing the HRO model (Oster & Braaten, 2016). In order to determine its weaknesses and strengths, each organization can conduct a performance evaluation according to the survey.
Figure 1: HRO Evaluation Maturity Survey
It will contribute to the improvement as it provides an opportunity to assess the key elements necessary for the existence of HRO. First of all, it measures the possibility of risk and harm prevention in the initial stages (Figure 1). It enables the comprehension of engaged employees and leaders level. The survey will help identify weaknesses in collective transmission and understand the focus areas to reduce errors. Moreover, in recent times, failure has become the reason for a lack of accountability (Oster & Braaten, 2016). Surveys main limitations are the possibility of giving false answers, which will lead to a misinterpretation of the actual results. Equally important is the support of management, which directly influences the implementation of the survey and HRO in general. Correspondingly, to check the reliability of the study and its correlation with the actual clinical practice, it is necessary to carry out other research.
References
Oster, C., & Braaten, J. (Eds.). (2016). High reliability organizations: A healthcare handbook for patient safety & quality. Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing.
Polonsky, M. S. (2019). High-reliability organizations: The next frontier in healthcare quality and safety. Journal of Healthcare Management, 64(4), 213-221.