The quality systems approach

Health care as an industry is going through an evolution similar to that experienced by manufacturing and other service sectors of the world economy. When competition threatens, the traditional management approach is slash-and-burn to manage costs. This approach affects people, services, and facilities. When the slash-and-burn method runs out of fuel, organizations start to merge, thinking that bigger is better. Just getting bigger only looks like change, with a new cast of fewer people and organizational structure. The root cause for existing problems has not been fixed. The only real solution, as manufacturing and services learned, is to understand and improve work processes to ensure that the right work is being done in a high-quality manner and at a competitive price. The era of quality systems is just dawning in health care. The focus must remain on quality patient outcomes at a competitive price by improving supporting systems and processes to accomplish these goals.