Browsing by Author "Reilly, Sandra Muir"

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    Consequence Delimiting: A Grounded Theory of Healthcare Leader Decision Making in the Context of Adverse Events
    (2018-05-22) McRae, Leonard Glenn; White, Deborah Elizabeth; Estefan, Andrew; Raffin Bouchal, Shelley; Reilly, Sandra Muir; Sheps, Samuel Barry
    Adverse events (AEs) remain a central focus of North American healthcare leaders (HLs) since the release of the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report: “To Err is Human” in 1999 (Institute of Medicine, 1999). The IOM reported that as many as 98,000 people died from preventable deaths every year in the United States as a result of errors in the delivery of healthcare. Studies in other healthcare systems report comparable rates of harm (Baker et al., 2004; Thomas et al., 2000; Vincent, Neale, & Woloshynowych, 2001). The high incidence of AEs coupled with healthcare leaders’ fiduciary and regulatory responsibilities to manage these events result in its central import for healthcare leaders. The aim of this study was to discover a general substantive theory on how HLs approach accountability in the context of adverse events (AEs). The research findings were that the main concern of HLs was determining how to respond to each AE. Consequence Delimiting emerged as the core category of this classic grounded theory (CGT). The theory was conceptualized as a stage theory where multiple phases proceed sequentially and each produces a product that is built upon by subsequent stages to ultimately produce an outcome. Consequence Delimiting begins at the time that the HL accountable for managing the AE; the accountable leader (AL) becomes aware of the AE and proceeds through the interrelated categories of apprehending, story constructing, expectation navigating and truth promoting to an event disposition. The emergent theory takes particular cognizance of the role that context and discretion play in determining the disposition of an AE. It highlights the influence of organizational and leadership culture, constraints and the role of pathways in influencing the disposition. Consequence Delimiting has implications for regulators and healthcare leaders interested in better understanding and improving patient safety in their organizations.