title: Improving safety on the front lines: the role of clinical microsystems.
abstract: The clinical microsystem puts medical error and harm reduction into the broader context of safety and quality of care by providing a framework to assess and evaluate the structure, process, and outcomes of care. Eight characteristics of clinical microsystems emerged from a qualitative analysis of interviews with representatives from 43 microsystems across North America. These characteristics were used to develop a tool for assessing the function of microsystems. Further research is needed to assess microsystem performance, outcomes, and safety, and how to replicate "best practices" in other settings.
authors.affiliation: Schools of Public Health and Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#7360 Beard Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7360, USA. Julie_mohr@unc.edu
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Mohr
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Batalden
mesh_terms: D006302:Health Services Research; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015969:National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, U.S., Health and Medicine Division; D009656:North America; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013597:Systems Analysis; D018511:Systems Integration; D014481:United States