Transcript

Can an organization be mindful? According to researchers who study high reliability organizations (HROs), the answer is yes. In an HRO, the organization promotes a culture of collective mindfulness. It emphasizes five principles that help it anticipate, prevent, and contain unexpected events. At MedStar Health, we embrace these five principles because they constitute a mindset that's critical to keeping our patients and associates safe.

Preoccupation with failure means we're all constantly on the lookout for things that can go wrong. We practice a questioning attitude and keep safety at the forefront of our minds. As individuals and as an institution, we anticipate threats to safety and pay attention to what we're doing at all times to avoid errors and notice early signs that something potentially could happen.