Quality and service improvement

Abstract

Quality improvement has a specific history and tradition, a particular approach and a repertoire of techniques that have been repeatedly shown to be effective in delivering sustainable improvements in healthcare delivery (Chassin & O'Kane, 2010; Kurth, 2013; Shewhart, 1980; Warrier & McGillen, 2011). Along with a description of each of these characteristics, this chapter provides readers with a series of techniques associated with them, establishing a quality improvement framework within which problems can be best addressed.