Date of Conferral

2017

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Management

Advisor

Kenneth Gossett

Abstract

Preventable medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Healthcare leaders must consistently promote the delivery of quality and safe care of patients to reduce unnecessary errors and prevent harm. The purpose of this case study was to explore human resource strategies for improving organizational performance to reduce medical errors. The study included face-to-face interviews with 5 healthcare clinical managers who work within a multifaceted health system in the Midwestern region of the United States. Complex adaptive systems theory was used to frame this study. Interview notes, publicly available documents, and audio recordings were transcribed and analyzed to identify themes regarding strategies used by managers to find effective ways for improvement. Four themes emerged: addressing seminal/never events, ongoing training programs, communication/collaboration, and promoting a culture of safety and quality. Results may directly benefit healthcare managers by facilitating successful strategies to reduce preventable medical errors through education, feedback, innovation, and leadership. Implications for social change for healthcare managers include continued training, building a culture of safety, and using collaborative and communicative efforts while making contributions to the best practices within healthcare organizations to reduce the likelihood of medical errors.

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