This study aims to identify critical management elements used to promote the transformation from a traditional organization to a learning organization, within the context of high complexity healthcare services. Traditional Organizations are based on the use of information, whereas Learning Organizations are based on knowledge creation. Organizational knowledge is viewed as a strategic resource for high complexity healthcare services. The analysis of the management of healthcare services based on knowledge-intensive work is structured through the qualification of the care process, which involves the stages of access, permanence and continuity of the treatment offered to patients. A case study was conducted in a private hospital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, south of Brazil, whose strategy is to solve high complexity problems. Among the critical management elements that emerged, the main ones were: the patient should be viewed as a client; the Institution's contact with the patient should not terminate at the end of hospital assistance - only when the problem related to the disease is solved; and the medical specialties should be in harmony and willing to share knowledge, encouraged by assistance protocols that are recognized by all.
Organizational Knowledge; Health Management; Hospital Administration
