Transformative Quality: The Emerging Revolution in Healthcare Performance

Always interesting and informed, national award-winning journalist Mark Hagland demonstrates how pioneering organizations are combining new tools with a new way of thinking to reinvent the way we deliver health care services in this country. Through exceptionally well-documented case studies, this insightful volume —



Puts the current journey towards industry-wide quality transformation into an understandable context for executive, board, and policymaking audiences
Explores how performance improvement methodologies borrowed from other industries, including Six Sigma, Lean management, and the Toyota Production System are transforming care delivery processes and administrative operations nationwide
Examines the strategic role that information technology will play in the transformation of clinical care quality and patient safety


The case studies contained in this book document the surprising strides being made by pioneering hospitals and health systems, advances that have the potential to transform the delivery of health care in the United States. Offered in a context that frames the current state of health care quality in this country, they are indispensable reading for anyone working in the trenches to improve that quality.

Introduction.
The Quality Journey Ahead: As Pioneers Step Out, Transformative Quality Becomes Real
The Quality Revolution: First Steps on a Journey of 1,000 Miles
What Purchasers and Payers Want: Value (Reliability, Safety, Accountability, Transparency)—and Why They’re Not Getting It
Transformative Quality: Its Context, Imperatives, and Prospects
Case Studies 1 to 3: Putting Patient Safety and Quality Transformation at the Core of Clinical Operations
Case Study 1 Brigham and Women’s Hospital: Patient Safety and Quality Transformation at the Core of Clinical Operations
Case Study 2 Seven San Francisco Bay Area Hospitals Pierce the Fog around Medication Administration Errors
Case Study 3 Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Exemplifies Pediatric Hospital Innovation
Case Studies 4 to 6: Breakthroughs in Evidence-Driven Quality and in Clinical Decision Support for Improved Care
Case Study 4 Geisinger Health System’s Industry Breakthrough on Quality and Transparency
Case Study 5 Groundbreaking Interoperability Gives UPMC Physicians a Unified View of the Patient Record
Case Study 6 Northwestern Memorial Hospital Clinicians Tackle an Array of Quality Challenges
Case Studies 7 to 9: Initiating Transformation on a Vast Scale
Case Study 7 Trinity Health Initiates Transformation on a Vast Scale
Case Study 8 Improving Stroke Outcomes in Rural Health Care Markets
Case Study 9 Tallahassee Memorial: Dramatic Improvements in Mortality Rates, Plus Transparency for the Community
Case Studies 10 to 11: Creating Clinical Cultures of Partnership
Case Study 10 The University of Rochester Medical Center’s ED Clinical Pharmacy Program Reduces Medication Errors
Case Study 11 Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare Creates a Culture of Partnership
Change Facilitator: Information Technology and the Pursuit of Quality Transformation
Working Conceptually: The Use of Performance Improvement Methodologies in Transformational Policy Considerations and the Future of Transformative Quality