Basic Planning for Quality

There's a way to plan instruments, methods, and procedures so quality is built-in from the start: Total Quality Management (TQM). This triage system allows you to rely on statistical qc for the easy methods, and emphasizez the non-statistical qc components for those harder methods. Dr. Westgard explains how to adopt and apply TQM where you work. (Preview)

• Adopt a TQC framework for quality management
• Learn the principles of quality planning from industry
• Utilize available quality planning tools and technology
• Implement an efficient process
• Accept responsibility for quality
• References

Quality assurance in healthcare is a modern MYTH - a Mighty Yearning (by the public), Testimony (by healthcare providers), and Hope (by all of us) that things will work okay if and when we need medical care. Current quality assurance practices mainly emphasize the assessment or measurement of quality, assuming (maybe hoping is a better word) that this interest and attention will work some magic to make quality happen. Unforunately, quality doesn't just happen! Production processes have to be carefully planned, monitored, and managed to assure quality is achieved.

Even the analytical quality of laboratory tests is being assumed today, rather than assured. [1] Laboratories assume that manufacturer's have solved all the problems with their testing processes. Programs in quality control and quality assurance are being reduced to the minimums needed to comply with regulatory and accreditation guidelines. Today the trend is towards new management practices, such as utilization control, outcome assessment, and compliance. But, have we really achieved the analytical quality that is needed? Do we even know what quality is needed for each of the tests we perform? If we haven't defined the quality that is needed, how can we assure that quality is being achieved by our testing processes?

Here's an assessment of what needs to be done if laboratories are to guarantee the quality of the test results they produce.

Adopt a TQM framework for quality management

Total Quality Management, or TQM, has been implemented in many healthcare organizations during the last decade. The teachings of industrial quality gurus, such as Deming and Juran, have established new principles and processes for managing quality. Personally, I have found that Deming provides the principles for what needs to be done and that Juran describes the methodologies or processes for getting it done.

We invite you to read the rest of this article

Note: This material is covered in the Basic Planning for Quality manual, which is availalbe in our online store. You can download the Table of Contents and additional chapters here.

Updated and expanded coverage of these topics can be found in Assuring the Right Quality Right,also available in our online store. You can also download the Table of Contents and additional chapters here.

Finally, you can access materials online on these topics by enrolling in the  Management and Design of Analytical Quality Systems course course.