Towards safer, better healthcare: harnessing the natural properties of complex sociotechnical systems.

J. Braithwaite; W. B. Runciman; A. F. Merry

Commentary

Towards safer, better healthcare: harnessing the natural properties of complex sociotechnical systems.

March 23, 2011

Braithwaite J, Runciman WB, Merry AF. Qual Saf Health Care. 2009;18(1):37-41.

View more articles from the same authors.

This piece explores how complex sociotechnical systems, natural peer-driven networks, and tipping points can be employed to promote best practices and enhance safety.

PubMed citation

Available at

Free full text

Related Resources From the Same Author(s)

A tragic death: a time to blame or a time to learn?

April 8, 2011

Improving patient safety governance and systems through learning from successes and failures: qualitative surveys and interviews with international experts.

December 6, 2023

A qualitative content analysis of retained surgical items: learning from root cause analysis investigations.

May 27, 2020

Changes in safety attitude and relationship to decreased postoperative morbidity and mortality following implementation of a checklist-based surgical safety intervention.

February 9, 2011

The application of the Global Trigger Tool: a systematic review.

May 8, 2017

A simulation design for research evaluating safety innovations in anaesthesia.

January 28, 2009

Errors, incidents and accidents in anaesthetic practice.

June 23, 2015

The impact of trained assistance on error rates in anaesthesia: a simulation-based randomised controlled trial.

February 25, 2009

Anaesthetists' management of oxygen pipeline failure: room for improvement.

January 14, 2011

Error, blame, and the law in health care—an antipodean perspective.

March 2, 2011

Related Resources

Safety culture across cultures.

January 8, 2020

Interruptions and multi-tasking: moving the research agenda in new directions.

September 29, 2017

Case report of a medication error: in the eye of the beholder.

August 31, 2016

'Just culture': improving safety by achieving substantive, procedural and restorative justice.

May 25, 2016

Counterheroism, common knowledge, and ergonomics: concepts from aviation that could improve patient safety.

April 21, 2015

Disentangling quality and safety indicator data: a longitudinal, comparative study of hand hygiene compliance and accreditation outcomes in 96 Australian hospitals.

October 8, 2014

A multi-tiered approach to safety education.

August 7, 2013

Reason's accident causation model: application to adverse events in acute care.

February 13, 2013

Tracing the foundations of a conceptual framework for a patient safety ontology.

January 19, 2011

An effectiveness analysis of healthcare systems using a systems theoretic approach.

Towards safer, better healthcare: harnessing the natural properties of complex sociotechnical systems.

Connect With Us

Sign up for Email Updates

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Towards safer, better healthcare: harnessing the natural properties of complex sociotechnical systems.

Connect With Us

Sign up for Email Updates

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Submit Your Innovations

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your Innovations

Continue as a Guest

Continue logged in

New Users to the PSNet site

Submit Your Training

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your Training

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

New Users to the PSNet site

Submit Your Toolkit

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your Toolkit

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

New Users to the PSNet site

Submit Your WebM&M Case

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your WebM&M Case

Continue as a Guest

Already have a PSNet

Account?

New Users