GESTIÓN EN SALUD PÚBLICA: AHRQ Patient Safety Network ► Systematic biases in group decision-making: implications for patient safety.

jueves, 6 de noviembre de 2014

AHRQ Patient Safety Network ► Systematic biases in group decision-making: implications for patient safety.

AHRQ Patient Safety Network

Study reviews four pitfalls in group decision-making; flawed group decisions can be root of medical errors.Int J Qual Health Care. 2014 Oct 15; [Epub ahead of print].

Systematic biases in group decision-making: implications for patient safety.

Mannion R, Thompson C. Int J Qual Health Care. 2014 Oct 15; [Epub ahead of print].

Cognitive approaches to patient safety have mostly focused on individual decisions. This study instead examines group decision-making and its safety implications. The authors describe four pitfalls associated with group decisions: groupthink in which the strongly connected mentality of members hinders dissenting opinion; social loafing in which people expend less effort because of a perceived failure to obtain individual credit for efforts; group polarization in which individual moderate positions are subsumed by more extreme or effort intensive group decisions; and escalation of commitment in which a poor outcome following a significant investment results in further commitment of resources instead of exploring a new approach. These four concepts can serve as a theoretical framework for future empiric work to characterize and improve group decision-making as an aspect of safety culture.

PubMed citation