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Abstract
Objectives This study adopted a process view of organisational learning to investigate the barriers to effective organisational learning from medical errors.
Methods Qualitative data were collected from 40 clinicians in high and low performing hospitals. The fit between the organisational learning process and socio-technical factors was investigated systematically from a pre-reporting stage to reporting and post-reporting stages.
Results The analysis uncovered that the major stumbling blocks to active learning lie largely in the post-reporting stages and that they are rooted in social rather than technical issues. Although the experience of the higher-performing hospital provides valuable pointers in terms of creating more trusting environment and using the potential of small failures towards ways in which the organisational learning process in the lower hospital might be improved, due to lack of local mangers’ proactive engagement in integrating changes into practice the active learning takes place in neither of the hospitals.
Conclusions To ensure that the change solutions are firmly incorporated into the culture and routine practice of the hospital, we need to focus on fostering an organisational culture that encourages positive cooperation and mutual interactions between local managers and frontline clinicians. This process will lead to double-loop learning and an increase in system safety.
- health & safety
- risk management
- health services administration & management
- change management
- quality in health care
- organisation of health services
Data availability statement
Qualitative data from this study are available upon reasonable request by writing to the corresponding author.
This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
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- health & safety
- risk management
- health services administration & management
- change management
- quality in health care
- organisation of health services
Data availability statement
Qualitative data from this study are available upon reasonable request by writing to the corresponding author.
Supplementary materials
Supplementary Data
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Footnotes
Contributors NMT was involved in data collection and analysis and writing the manuscript. FM reviewed the data analysis and the final draft.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
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