Complexity Science and Healthcare Solutions

Complexity Science improves our understanding of the healthcare system, a multi-layered organization largely driven by rapidly changing technology and information. In fact healthcare intersects the fundamental study designs used to develop and understand the field of complexity science.  Complexity Science is built on present-day research and thinking about biological models, where systems are viewed as nonlinear and able to adapt to a changing environment. This is different than the classical Newtonian ideas that actions within a system like healthcare need to be cause and effect and strictly hierarchical.  Complex adaptive systems focus on the patterns and relationships among the parts of an organization seen in the healthcare business, in order to understand and act on the unpredictable aspects of working with people in dynamic and successful establishments.  We know that organizations are alive and vibrant, like the human organism.  The metaphor captures the essence of interrelationship between unique parts.  What happens in one part of the organism will be unpredictable but effects every part of the organism.  The organism must adapt to that change, not in an isolated response, but in a flexible and adaptable

multi-system integrated function that preserves and possibly strengthens the organism from future insults.  When the organism can self-analyze and identify weaknesses relative to a changing environment, then marshal unique internal skills to address the flaw and inefficiency, and those skills are native and respond to the stress to improve the entire organism’s response, the organism demonstrates the theory of a complex adaptive system, the fundamental expression of Complexity Science.  So, understanding the human body as a complex adaptive system and then considering the healthcare initiatives fundamental goal is to perform at maximal efficiency for the good of the patient, requires integrating multiple unique agencies within the system. One must therefore accept that complexity theory fundamentally describes how healthcare systems actually function.

Applications of design improvements and leadership methodology that embraces this theory empowers the individual with responsibility and initiative to creatively apply their skills and knowledge to improve the entire system, even from their unique station or job within that system.  Because of their innovative and diverse backgrounds, individuals in the healthcare system can influence and respond effectively through progressive adaptations to challenges under the complexity science design model. The individual practitioners and allied personnel are the building blocks of the organizational system and at its core, function with a common goal, delivery quality, cost effective medical treatment.  As we study the interfaces between these individuals, the system leaders can look for and stimulate emergent interaction between individuals and observe communication patterns, identify feed-back loops, and explore the edge of creativity from the interface. The leader will identify and model an efficient system utilizing this information. There will be constraints that barrier creativity during their interaction and the leader must manage and overcome this challenge.

Approaching an understanding of healthcare delivery through complexity science envisions the hundreds of different types of professionals and organizations interacting to provide medical services following the tenants of complexity science exercising principles of flexibility, adaptability, and creativity of each agency.   Leaders encourage collaboration around tasks, and the role of leader is shared based upon challenge and opportunity.