Abstract

In three health care environments, the efficacy of quality improvement tools is demonstrated. At an academic community health center network, the robust quality management program includes tools such as quarterly performance report cards and run charts depicting trends and comparisons. Within a second group of health care organizations, Pareto diagrams are used by outside advisors to train process improvement teams and leaders in the targeting of improvement initiatives. And the client and supplier of a health care service use cause-and-effect diagrams to nurture their collaborative efforts on process improvement teams.