Editing question

[justcarol67]

Carol earlier:
> 
> > I'm copyediting an article for a nursing journal and I've come across the term "systems issue." Can someone define that term for me in 
> > ordinary English? <snip>

Catlady responded: 
> In this case, I suspect that I would have said "systemic issue", meaning that the problem is caused by things deeply part of the situation, so solving/reducing the problem requires significant change to how the facility does stuff. <snip>

Carol again:

Thanks, but that term won't resolve the problem. I'm trying to eliminate the abstract diction for the sake of readers who want clarity and instant comprehensibility, not more precise technical terms. If you don't know what a systems issue is, calling it a "systemic issue" won't help you. (You're on the right track, though; the writer is trying to discuss "organizational characteristics" of the home care agency in relation to "fall management." The sentence in question is "A fall, like a medication error, is a systems issue." Would "A fall, like a medication error, is the responsibility of the whole staff, not just the clinician in charge of the patient" work? 

Carol, who wishes that people would just say what they mean