Complexity in Healthcare

I have been reading the book Out of Control by Kevin Kelly about complexity science and the future. Although not stated out right, many of his analogies apply to healthcare.



One that hit home was the idea that anything in balance is dead.



Kelly shows us this concept through the analysis of planets atmospheres in the solar system. Any planet whose atmospheric elements are in text book equilibrium can sustain no life. But earth, earth is a stable instability of gases, and, of course, life thrives$

In complexity, stagnant and equilibrium is death. When movement stops, even to the cellular level, death occurs.



And what our our hospitals thriving on? Stability!



Policies and procedures provide a stagnant environment that takes enourmous energy to change, the AMA and other professional organizations are steeped in the traditions of a past paradigm, and the knowledge workers at the point of care have extreme difficulty in adopting new practices (17 years for research to reach the bedside). So what does all this mean...



Stagnation.



So to hit it home a little closer. The IOM reports that over 100,000 people die each year from medical error. But is that surprising when the system is working towards stability?



My questions are: what would happen if a hospital, clinic, practitioner office moved to a complex adaptive system model?

What if the policy was to find and utilize the best evidence to make a clinical decision?

What if there was a system out there to provide the best evidence to the practitioner, the patient, and the system so policies and procedures were then obsolete?



What kind of healthcare would happen then?

I'm an Author..Finally out of Stealth

Hello all,

I have been in stealth mode while working on a simulation project with Elsevier Publishing the past year, and finally, I can talk about it.

the SIMULATION LEARNING SYSTEM

This is the first of its kind in human patient simulation education support for nurses. The product features a WORKING EMR, 30 med surg scenarios, Multimedia resources for learning, and provides a step-by-step guide to setting up, conducting, and debriefing simulation!

I am one of 3 authors on the project and am very proud of the hard work that Elsevier and the other contributors have put forth. This product is truly AMAZING. I was a skeptic at first, believing simulations should be created by the schools to match the curriculum. After seeing the SLS I am convinced otherwise.

This will cut faculty prep time significantly, provide resources for student learning, and change the way Lecture and Simulation mesh inside nursing schools.

This has the potential to change the way simulation is conducted, and standardizes scenarios for better learning outcomes and better student experiences.

I welcome comments and thoughts.

Its Been A While

Well, its been a while since I last posted. I am 3 weeks into my PhD in Healthcare Innovation at Arizona State University and have already filled up 150 pages of notes. I had loathed the thoughts of Nursing Theory and Philosophy classes, but as I read the articles I am finding that Innovation and Complexity are hidden through and just need a little push to get them out in the open!

I am also working with a business partner on creating the next revolution in healthcare knowledge utilization. This project is currently in stealth mode, but will become public in the next few months. Nothing like this has ever been done before, and we are excited about the possibilities of changing healthcare knowledge forever!

Well, it off to read more theory!!! Being a skeptic on how theory would have ever related to my practice as an Emergency Department RN, I am now realizing, having the basis of theory allows one to see the bigger picture and look at the systemness of healthcare. I will be blogging more on that in the future.

Time to put on the headphones and read away!!!!