Curing Health Care

Applying Quality-Assurance Methods A Report on the National Demonstration Project on Quality Improvement in Health Care This book is recommAnded for managers wanting to enhance service quality and productivity. By avoiding mistakes and useless units of activity, gains in productivity occur as quality improves. --Healthcare Financial Management Learn how health care organizations can use the quality improvement process to help regain control and hope in a time of frustration and skyrocketing costs. In ten key lessons, the authors demonstrate what works and does not work in actual practice. They present case examples of specific health care improvement projects ranging from transport of critically ill infants to quick turnaround of emergency lab specimens and to the generation of accurate Medicare bills.

Foreword ix Joseph M. Juran Preface to the Paperback Edition: Ten Things We Know Now That We Wish We Had Known Then xiii Preface xxxiii The Authors xli 1. Symptoms of Stress in the Health Care System 1 2. Applying Quality Management to Health Care 18 3. Foundations of Quality Management 29 4. Using the Scientific Method to Define Problems 46 5. Organizing Quality Improvement Teams 67 6. The Diagnostic Journey 75 7. Implementing Successful Remedies 109 8. Holding and ExtAnding the Gains 134 9. Ten Key Lessons for Quality Improvement 144 Afterword: Reflections on the Future 159 David A. Garvin Resource A: Participants in the National Demonstration Project 167 Resource B: A Primer on Quality Improvement Tools 177 Paul E. Plsek Resource C: Three Project report 221 Resource D: Key Readings in Quality Improvement 275 Index 281