Knowledge Management in Healthcare - Hardcover

'In healthcare, communications and knowledge sharing are vital. The book Knowledge Management in Healthcare highlights key reasons for ensuring that knowledge gets transferred, and it provides insightful examples for initiating improvements. As healthcare reform requires a rethinking of processes and paradigms, this book offers organizations and healthcare professionals an annotated roadmap for achieving greater success through effective knowledge sharing and management.' Jean P. Shipman, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA'Lorri Zipperer's book takes a complex topic that has been woefully illusive and yet powerful and presents practical opportunities for systematic change in healthcare based on a theoretical and applied basis. The book is particularly valuable as a reference tool for empowering healthcare professionals on the frontline, between the frontline and senior leadership, and for multi-disciplinary teams.'Mary Lee Kennedy, Chief Library Officer, New York Public Library, USA

Knowledge management goes beyond data and information capture in computerized health records and ordering systems; it seeks to leverage the experiences of all who interact in healthcare to enhance care delivery, teamwork, and organizational learning. Knowledge management - if envisioned thoughtfully - takes a systemic approach to implementation that includes the embodiment of a learning culture. Knowledge is then used to support that culture and the knowledge workers within it to encourage them to share what they know, thusly enabling their peers, their organizations and ultimately their patients to benefit from their experience to proactively dismantle hierarchy and encourage sharing about what works, and what doesn’t to focus efforts on improvement. Knowledge Management in Healthcare draws on relevant business, clinical and health administration literature plus the analysis of discussions with a variety of clinical, administrative, leadership, patient and information experts. The result is a book that will inform thinking on knowledge access needs to mitigate potential failures, design lasting improvements and support the sharing of what is known to enable work towards attaining high reliability. It can be used as a general tool for leaders and individuals wishing to devise and implement a knowledge-sharing culture in their institution, design innovative activities supporting transparency and communication to strengthen existing programs intended to enhance knowledge sharing behaviours and contribute to high quality, safe care.