Knowledge management (KM) has distinct applications in health care beyond that of data and information management via health information technologies such as electronic health records and computerized ordering systems. KM embodies a systemic approach to developing a learning culture and then supporting that culture and the knowledge workers within it to share what they know to enable their peers, their organizations and ultimately their patients to benefit from that experience.

No one in health care today can keep up with the new knowledge on their own. Even with the variety of tools at their disposal, many practitioners and the organizations within which they work do not effectively utilize the tools and information they need to remain current. Modes of communication are becoming more diverse and ubiquitous, whether it is the published literature in PubMed and other free databases on the Internet, through web sites, intranets, discussion lists, blogs, communities of practice, social media, and conversations over coffee or during rounds.

This publication will explore partnerships required to facilitate effective knowledge development, sharing and management in medicine. KM principles will be applied to a variety of health care situations and, more broadly, will be used to illustrate how accessing and sharing of knowledge can improve health care quality.

Contents: Foreword, Julie Morath; Preface; Part 1 Nature of Knowledge-Sharing Environments: What is knowledge?, Pam Barnard, Judith Napier and Lorri Zipperer; Healthcare culture and knowledge, Barbara Balik, Michael Leonard and Margaret Moylan Bandy; The healthcare environment and knowledge: blunt-end experience, Lorri Zipperer and Albert Wu; The healthcare environment and knowledge: sharp-end experience, Christine Chastain-Warheit and Lorri Zipperer. Part 2 Knowledge Workers: Insights from the Frontline: What healthcare knowledge workers can teach us about knowledge sharing, Lorri Zipperer and Becky Steward; What healthcare workers have to say about ‘tacit knowledge’: insights from the front line, Lorri Zipperer and Cathy Tokarski. Part 3 Knowledge-Sharing Metrics: Practicalities and Future Directions: Knowledge sharing effectiveness: assessment, challenges and opportunities, Margaret H. Burnett, Michael G. Dieter and Annette L. Valenta; To boldly go…implementing knowledge management, Lorri Zipperer, Kathryn Eblen Townsend and Heidi A. Heilemann; Strategies for knowledge sharing: lessons from improvisation, Geri Amori, Jan Chindlund and Lorri Zipperer. Part 4 Resources; References, Appendices; Glossary; Index.

About the Editor: Lorri Zipperer, Cybrarian is the principal at Zipperer Project Management, in Albuquerque, NM. Lorri has been in the information and knowledge management field for over two decades, over half of which have been focused on patient safety. She was a founding staff member of the National Patient Safety Foundation as the information project manager. Lorri currently works with clients to provide patient safety information, knowledge sharing, project management and strategic development guidance. Lorri has recently led projects in patient safety educational tool development, publication evidence identification and organizational knowledge access improvement. She currently serves as the Cybrarian for AHRQ’s Patient Safety Net. She was recognized with a 2005 Institute for Safe Medication Practices “Cheers” award for her work with librarians, libraries and their involvement in patient safety. She has initiated and published 2 national surveys of librarians on their role in patient safety work to map the evolution of that role over time. Ms Zipperer's expertise was highlighted in the June 2009 Medical Library Association policy on the role of librarians in patient safety. She has launched blogs, online groups and communities of practice to enable sharing of information and knowledge to facilitate safety and quality improvement amongst her peers.

Lorri's knowledge management efforts focus on bringing multidisciplinary teams together to explore and enable effective knowledge transfer. Her commitment to understanding how systems thinking affects knowledge and information management culminated in several outputs to generate innovation and improvement in the melding of these disciplines. Ms. Zipperer was a 2004-2005 Patient Safety Leadership Fellow where she explored how information and knowledge transfer behaviors affect a learning culture. She has participated in research to explore the process of knowledge sharing both at the bedside and with clinical teams. In 2007 and 2009, she was funded by regional offices of the National Network of Libraries of medicine to work with her colleagues in acute care environments to facilitate avenues for implementation of knowledge sharing initiatives. In 2008, Ms Zipperer worked with the WHO Patient Safety to envision an effective knowledge sharing role for that organization. She has designed and co-facilitates a interprofessional workshop on knowledge sharing in hospitals http://cech.mlanet.org/node/390 In addition, Ms Zipperer has recently contributed chapters on knowledge sharing work for medical librarians and systems thinking as a strategic development approach to a core library management publications both scheduled for publication in 2011.

She is a published author in alternative roles for librarians, patient safety, medical reference, information management and visioning. She currently consults on information and knowledge management, publication and content creation, patient safety awareness and terminology development issues.

Lorri earned her MA in library and information studies from Northern Illinois University. She has received honors from the library and information science community for her publishing work. In addition to her consultant commitments, she has served as an adjunct professor for library management at the university level. Lorri is also active professionally by filling both elected and invited positions within the Special Libraries Association.