Creating highly reliable health care: how reliability-enhancing work practices affect patient safety in hospitals.

Vogus TJ, Iacobucci D. Ind Labor Relat Rev. 2016;69:911-938.

High reliability organizations are those within high-risk industries that have adopted processes to detect and address failures before harm occurs. This survey study of nurses and nurse managers found that use of reliability-enhancing work practices, such as giving frontline employees mechanisms to recommend organizational change, is associated with fewer medication errors and falls. These results suggest that high reliability strategies can support patient safety.

Available at Free full text