The recent introduction and successful application of Lean Thinking in health is generating a belief that continuous improvement (a product of Lean) can be delivered in the context of health care, as long as key organisational principles are in place. This paper offers case studies to illustrate where Lean methods are being introduced into a primary care commissioning organisation and are deliv...

BACKGROUND Patient and family engagement (PFE) in healthcare is an important element of the transforming healthcare system; however, the prevalence of various PFE practices in the USA is not known. OBJECTIVE We report on a survey of hospitals in the USA regarding their PFE practices during 2013-2014. RESULTS The response rate was 42%, with 1457 acute care hospitals completing the survey. We...

BACKGROUND This paper draws on data from five English primary care trust (PCT) case studies which formed part of a larger research project that explored the roles and relationships of clinical managers and their colleagues in periods of change within different healthcare organisations. AIMS This article uses empirical data to further our understanding of how primary care organisations can suc...

OBJECTIVE The study objective was to assess the effects of an interorganisational educational intervention called the 'Meeting Point' on patient safety culture among staff in hospital and nursing home wards. DESIGN The study employs a quasi-experimental, non-randomised design with a hospital and nursing home intervention group and a hospital and nursing home control group. The study uses one ...

The success of the Primary Health Care (PHCs) Centres in delivering health services at community level is largely dependent on effectiveness, efficiency, and management support being provided by PHC Agencies. This study identified institutional capacity needs selected Agencies that will require urgent attention as a veritable means revitalisation facilities these to operationalise Basic Healthc...

The research topic has significant implications on organisations that aspire to reach higher levels of improvement by continuously creating diverse values to their stakeholders and building unique Business Process Improvement (BPI) capabilities. We present an a-priori model derived from well-known theories and domains such as stakeholder and organisational capabilities theories. The model mainl...

This paper focuses on the concept of continuous improvement processes (CIP) as one type of non-technical, procedural organisational innovation. In particular, the diffusion of this organisational concept among German manufacturing firms will be analysed. The analysis is based on data from the German Manufacturing Survey 2006 which is carried out every two years by Fraunhofer ISI. The underlying...

Copyright © 2001, Idea Group Publishing. The research effort on Electronic Patient Records (EPRs) has rapidly increased in the last decade. Much of this research focussed on standardisation and technical realizations. We will describe such a research effort in this chapter and evaluate its success. Our main finding is that the lack of success of this specific research effort is mainly due to it...

This paper responds to the current emphasis on organisational learning in the NHS as a means of improving healthcare systems and making hospitals safer places for patients. Conspiracies of silence have been identified as obstacles to organisational learning, covering error and hampering communication. In this paper we question the usefulness of the term and suggest that “cultural censorship”, a...

The notion that hospitals and medical practices should learn from failures, both their own and others', has obvious appeal. Yet, healthcare organisations that systematically and effectively learn from the failures that occur in the care delivery process, especially from small mistakes and problems rather than from consequential adverse events, are rare. This article explores pervasive barriers ...