Front-line staff perspectives on opportunities for improving the safety and efficiency of hospital work systems.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To contrast the safety-related concerns raised by front-line staff about hospital work systems (operational failures) with national patient safety initiatives.

Data sources

Primary data included 1,732 staff-identified operational failures at 20 U.S. hospitals from 2004 to 2006.

Study design

Senior managers observed front-line staff and facilitated open discussion meetings with employees about their patient safety concerns.

Data collection

Hospitals submitted data on the operational failures identified through managers' interactions with front-line workers. Data were analyzed for type of failure and frequency of occurrence. Recommendations from staff were compared with recommendations from national initiatives.

Principal findings

The two most fr

SUBMITTER: Tucker AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2654160 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature