Incorporating Systems Thinking in Healthcare Organizations

At the outset, it is good to understand the importance of the trends in world healthcare. The advocates of healthcare improvement, quality and equality of care have come far away from home. This is because there is no doubt the trends in healthcare industry is evolving– thanks to policy changes, organizational shifting from public to private policies, from the implementation of public establishments to private establishments, and from societal shifts to technological advances, and from individual thinking to system thinking (Institute of Medicine, 2001). I think it is important to look at system thinking in many aspects of the public health system, bringing complex parts together to form a more successful system that works for everyone in the organization. Tarbovic (2014) proposed the five ways to incorporate system thinking into healthcare organizations.

  1. Apply a holistic approach to solving problems:
  2. Define approaches to evaluating and understanding system-wide effects
  3. Identify and nurture great systems thinkers
  4. Apply a proactive approach to identify leverage points
  5. Create a culture of systems thinking

Institute of Medicine. (2001). Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century. National Academy Press: Washington, DC

Trbovich, P. (2014). Five ways to incorporate systems thinking into healthcare organizations. Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology, 4831-36 6p. doi:10.2345/0899-8205-48.s2.31