Building Your RCA Muscles with Success Cause Analysis

Have you heard of "Success Cause Analysis"?
New York City Health + Hospitals is using an innovative technique called Success Cause Analysis (SCA) to strengthen their Root Cause Analysis (RCA) muscles.

SCA uses the traditional RCA method, but instead of a deep dive into why something went wrong, it's a deep dive into why something went right. Advocates of this new approach report that staff who are new to participating in event analysis are more engaged when the analysis centers around something positive.

SCAs tend to focus more on system-level factors like communication, teamwork, and handoffs than a standard RCA. Receiving a positive, non-punitive response to ideas for improvement during an SCA can support psychological safety, a necessary component of safety culture.

Want to learn more about SCA?
Recently, the Pennsylvania (PA) Patient Safety Authority presented a webinar entitled: "Success Cause Analysis" as a Strategy to Promote Learning and Staff Engagement. Learn more about how adding SCA into your toolbox can help strengthen your team's RCA muscles.

Resources:

• A New Pairing: Root Cause and Success Analysis from the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority

• Success Cause Analysis: Learning from What Works to Advance Safety from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)