Promoting Safety and Quality through Human Resource Practices

Many studies have found a positive correlation between staffing patterns and patient outcomes. There is abundant evidence that the presence of a strong, well-tended workforce has an impact on the quality of patient care that is delivered.  High-performance human resource practices such as systematic personnel selection and incentive compensation may be an untapped strategy for improving the quality of care.

In partnership with The Ohio State University Division of Health Services Management and Policy, Rush University Medical Center, and the AHA's American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA), HRET is identifying human resource practices with the potential for enhancing safety and quality in health care, and conducting case studies of successful applications of one of these practices. The study team will develop recommendations for implementing a promising human resource practice within interested health care organizations.

HRET and its partners at Ohio State and Rush will conduct a broad scan of promising health care human resource practices and will select one practice as a point of focus. The project will then conduct a systematic review of the literature on the effectiveness of the selected HR practice in improving quality and to explore barriers and facilitators to implementing the practice.

The project will also conduct four case studies of the selected HR practice in real-world settings. Through a combination of site visits, key informant interviews, observation, and document review, the project team will enhance their understanding of the practice in a variety of health care settings. Then, using the case study data collected, the project team will conduct a business case analysis for adopting the selected HR practice and will measure its return on investment.

The project team will work with an expert advisory panel to develop a set of recommendations on implementing the selected HR practice in health care settings.  Findings can be anticipated by early 2010.

For more information on this project, please contact Steve Hines at (312) 422-2607 or shines3@aha.org.