Balancing Just Culture with regulatory standards

Over the past decade, there has been much attention called to the reality of errors occurring in healthcare that jeopardize patient safety. Not only has this attention and reality caused angst and concern for persons and families that may require healthcare but it also causes significant angst and concern among care providers themselves. In response to the reality that 44,000 to 98,000 deaths occur annually because of medical error, regulatory organizations developed standards to achieve compliance with safe practice and delivery of care and to increase accountability. To promote more open, consistent, and reporting without fear of retribution, Just Culture philosophies are increasingly evident in healthcare organizations. These Just Culture organizations are described as taking a fair and balanced approach to event reporting, learning from mistakes, and holding persons and the organization accountable.