Abstract

[This abstract is based on the author's abstract.] The health care industry must meet numerous, complicated, and expensive regulations and accreditation standards. Compliance with these standards as established a basic level of quality for performance, but there is little incentive to exceed the expectations of customers. None of the regulations or standards comprises a quality management system and cannot prevent medical mistakes or encourage high quality care without an analysis of processes required by good management systems. Quality management systems, such as represented by ISO 9001:2000 offer the means by which quality can be improved. Implementing an affordable quality management system facilitates compliance with regulations and accreditation standards, prevents medical errors, and exceeds the basic level of customers' expectations in regard to quality.