Creating a High Reliability Healthcare Organization (HRO)

Making care exceptional for everyone, every time

Complex systems, overworked staff, inconsistent processes and human error all impact care delivery, safety and the patient experience, but organizations can lessen the impact by focusing on proven high reliability principles.

Tackling workplace challenges

Vizient Safe and Reliable Healthcare partners with organizations to tackle persistent quality, safety, and workplace challenges, reducing the chances of patient harm, team burnout and waste.

Together, we can show you how to become a high reliability organization (HRO) in healthcare, and our experts stand ready to help you wherever you are on the journey.

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Improve culture and efficiencies
Leverage culture and engagement data/ SCORE
Develop leaders
Increase transparency and build community/ LENS
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What is a high reliability organization (HRO) in healthcare?

High reliable organizations (HROs) function in environments that are both complex and prone to risk, yet manage to operate for extended periods without causing harm or encountering catastrophic incidents. These organizations successfully reshape their cultures, establish effective systems, and empower their employees. They are specifically designed to anticipate and address events that could potentially lead to harm to patients.

In a high reliability healthcare organization:

Leaders model the principles of high reliability, aiming to transform their organizations, recognizing that culture significantly impacts engagement and outcomes.
The workforce becomes increasingly engaged, responsible, and vigilant about risks, leading to a reduction in harm and enhanced clinical outcomes.
An infrastructure of ongoing learning systems is established to foster improvement and ensure long-term viability.
Tangible achievements and lasting improvements in quality, safety, operations, and culture are attained, with a focus on measurability and sustainability.

Why strive for HRO healthcare?

“Because every one of us will be a patient someday—if we haven’t already been one—and we all have family members who have or will need healthcare. We want these experiences to be the best they can be, by all definitions. And if we acknowledge that everyone deserves that level of quality, consistency and comfort, then we have a responsibility as healthcare professionals to pursue high reliability."

-- Framework for High Reliability Healthcare

Accelerate your organization’s high reliability journey today

Embedding the principles of high reliability can help address the complex problems healthcare organizations face.

The Framework for High Reliability Healthcare represents the next step in guiding organizations on their high reliability journeys, giving teams the skills, activities, and behaviors to bring high reliability to life.

Download the free white paper

Advance your HRO journey with the right partner

Becoming a high reliability organization is a transformational journey. Vizient Safe and Reliable Healthcare offers everything you need to become an HRO and enable stronger, more consistent execution of high reliability concepts.

Deep expertise in high reliability principles, data science, culture improvement, professional development, management systems and technology
Integrated approach including consulting, analytics, professional development, technology tools and services
Our evidence-based and validated Framework for High Reliability Healthcare

Vizient Framework for High Reliability Healthcare

The Framework for High Reliability Healthcare is a comprehensive collection of the knowledge, insights and research that help healthcare organizations become highly reliable in practice. It serves as the foundation for embedding the skills, activities and behaviors needed to become an HRO. The framework is made up of five domains:

Culture: How we as individuals, teams and organizations model high reliability behaviors in our daily work and interactions
Knowledge: Transparent information sharing with a focus on using clinical, operational and cultural data to identify and respond to bright spots and opportunities
Learning: The continuous focus on understanding why problems occur and designing and scaling systems, processes and human interactions to minimize risk and avoid harm
Leadership: The skills, activities and behaviors needed to guide and manage a high reliability journey
Management Systems: Visual management systems to advance a high reliability strategy, foster accountability, deploy strategic priorities to the front line, and drive continuous improvement.

We partner with you to implement the framework at all organizational levels, ensuring your leaders and teams incorporate high reliability principles in daily work. Download the Framework

Using a data-driven approach to build a healthy culture and improve outcomes

Framework for High Reliability Healthcare

Want to advance your organization’s HRO transformation, but don’t know where to start?

See how to launch, accelerate and sustain a high reliability journey.

Get from where you are now to where you want to be

Our HRO experts stand ready to guide you on your high reliability journeys. As pioneers in the field, we understand the critical phases of an HRO transformation and the tools needed to launch, advance and sustain a high reliability journey. Here’s how we help:

Assess your organization’s high reliability readiness and develop a roadmap for clinical, operational and cultural transformation.
Cultivate high reliability leaders through professional development programs and strategic discussions aimed at implementing the framework at all organizational levels.
Build an engaged and collaborative workforce by embedding high reliability skills, activities and behaviors organization wide.
Integrate clinical, operational and cultural analytics and leverage digital visual management technology to drive learning, strengthen community and accelerate improvement.
Create a resilient, learning organization that can deliver high-quality, consistent care for patients.

Learn more

Advance your journey to high reliability.