Resource

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) white paper A Framework for Safe, Reliable, and Effective Care includes two foundational domains — culture and the learning system — along with nine interrelated components. The framework brings together the strategic, clinical, and operational concepts that are critical to achieving safe, reliable, and effective care while centering the safety of patients and their families. 

This paper describes the domains of organizational culture and the learning system. It outlines what is involved with each and how they interact. It provides definitions and implementation strategies for the nine components (leadership, psychological safety, accountability, teamwork and communication, negotiation, transparency, reliability, improvement and measurement, and continuous learning); and discusses patient and family engagement. 

This paper provides organizations with a clearer understanding of how to achieve safe, reliable, and effective care. Organizations can use the framework as a roadmap to guide them in applying the principles contained therein, or as a diagnostic tool to determine how well (or even if) they are pursuing the different components of the framework. 

The use of this framework aligns with Zero Suicide’s dedication to organizational change that centers patient safety and the well-being of healthcare staff.