Research and continuous improvement: The merging of two entities?

Hospital administrators are under pressure to provide a quality product at reasonable prices. As a result, all aspects of hospital structure and culture are under review, which places continuous improvement (CI) programs addressing quality and satisfaction in a more prominent role. Although the theo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of healthcare management Vol. 41; no. 3; p. 359
Main Authors Morrison, Eileen, Mobley, Debbie, Farley, Barbara
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Chicago Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies 01.10.1996
Subjects
Cost control
Data collection
Design
Ethnomethodology
Health care industry
Hospitals
Hypotheses
Internal validity
Methods
Naturalism
Philosophy of science
Positivism
Problem solving
Qualitative research
Quality
Quality control
Quality of service
Scientific method
Studies
Total quality
Variables
United States > US
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Hospital administrators are under pressure to provide a quality product at reasonable prices. As a result, all aspects of hospital structure and culture are under review, which places continuous improvement (CI) programs addressing quality and satisfaction in a more prominent role. Although the theory, data collection methods, and analysis techniques of continuous improvement have grown considerably since the days of quality assurance, clinical problems in healthcare organizations are also increasingly complex and difficult to solve. From this perspective, research has a great deal to offer our current continuous improvement efforts. It is proposed that CI and research are similar problem-solving approaches, based on philosophies that provide direction for theorizing, collecting and analyzing data, and identifying solutions. A clinical problem elaborates on the similarities of each approach. Finally, common misconceptions are discussed.
ISSN:1096-9012
1944-7396