Delivering compassionate health care and patient safety through strategic ergonomic interventions

System delivery of high quality health care and patient safety allows society to express its compassion and concern for its citizens. Delivering these systems provides one of the most personally meaningful experiences for humans. However, the system that provides this service is complex and needs to be viewed as a whole. Ergonomists bring a systems perspective, which can enhance service and quality of life. Examples are provided that demonstrate the value of ergonomics to the industry, enterprises and users. Finally, the role ergonomists can play is discussed in terms of business strategies and a new paradigm is offered for ergonomic interventions. It is often difficult to scale individual interventions to large complex systems. However, ergonomists can work through Professional Sector Organizations (PSO) with industries or companies to form Hybrid Value Chains (HVC) for delivering higher quality health care and patient services. Ergonomists have a unique skill set that focuses on system interventions, which is what is required in this field.