Author: Jo Flemming

In the August 2013 report published by Don Berwick on behalf of the Government, he suggests as leaders we have to put patient safety at the top of our priorities. What does that mean to those leaders who are closest to the “sharp end”? [...]

Author: Dr. Derek Wheeler 

Leadership is a word you hear about a lot these days.  There are over 94,000 books on leadership available for purchase on Amazon.com.  As of June 27, 2013, a PubMed search using the key word leadership generated over 36,000 articles relevant to healthcare.  Given all of this attention, I think it is safe to assume that leadership is an important topic!  However, is it safe to assume that leadership is important to building a high reliability organization? [...]

Author: Jim Conway 

The CMO of a rural community healthcare system was pleased after kicking off a patient safety meeting with more than 100 front-line clinical, administrative and support staff.  The organization had shown a dramatic decline in serious adverse events and now the numbers for most months were very small.  The chart showing the downward trend was striking.  He was therefore stunned with the first comment from staff: “If that’s what you think then it is clear you don’t have any idea of what goes on in my unit every day.” [...]