Ergonomics Innovations

 By now, most readers of P&T are conversant in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in Boston. A not-for-profit organization led by Dr. Donald Berwick, IHI has been largely liable for tackling the challenge of improving the standard and safety of health care in thousands of hospitals throughout the U.S. Its campaigns, including “Saving 100,000 Lives” and “Preventing Five Million Medical Mistakes,” are now legendary. In a report from McKinsey Quarterly,1 faculty members from Stanford University’s grad school of Business describe what they call the “ergonomics of innovation” and the way IHI reflects this. What does this jargon really mean? The basic theme is that physical and cognitive “affordances” (possible functions or actions) can help people believe , know, and use something more easily and make fewer errors. The business school’s professors believe that any organization can adopt these principles, especially in influencing networks, where there could be little, if any, formal authority. i think that each P&T member would enjoy a deeper understanding of this subject . The components of the ergonomics of innovation contains creating something new from a mix of old ideas, setting goals that encourage action, starting with small steps, and developing tools that make it easier for people to market change.