Why Clinicians Hold the Key to Fixing Health Care's Complexity Problem

Some of the most daunting challenges facing health care today are complex (as opposed to complicated), and leadership approaches developed for merely complicated work (emphasizing measurement, efficiency, and standardized practices) have limited effectiveness. The decision-making processes honed by clinicians in medical school and residency, which emphasize teamwork, hypothesis-testing, and rapid adaptation, are better suited to complex problems than the processes typically taught in business and health administration programs, and organizations can benefit from harnessing their clinicians' skills to address complex operational problems.