El ABC de la Cultura Justa (The ABC of the Just Culture): The path to building a dependable organization

Abstract

The American British Cowdray Medical Center (ABC Medical Center), in Mexico City, has evolved throughout the years by consistently updating our vision but always with a focus on the patient as our reason to exist. Between 1999 and 2011, we fixed our vision on quality and patient safety and sought out those who could endorse us for what we achieved in this period: the national certifications and recertification of the General Health Council, the international Joint Commission Accreditation and the National Quality Prize.

The year 2010 was one of reflection and broadening our horizons to observe what was being done worldwide in relation to quality and patient care with a deep commitment to one of our most important organizational pillars: our people.

As an organization, we have analyzed our leadership, values and expectations of our work team in relation to the attention our patients are receiving, recognition of our people and our ethics code, among others. Though we have successfully maintained high-quality standards, we regularly ask ourselves: What is the next step to ensure that we continue to be the best option for our patients and physicians?