Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Quality in Health Care : QHC logoLink to Quality in Health Care : QHC
. 1997 Dec;6(4):212–218. doi: 10.1136/qshc.6.4.212

Putting continuous quality improvement into accreditation: improving approaches to quality assessment.

E Scrivens 1
PMCID: PMC1055496  PMID: 10177038

Abstract

The accreditation systems of the United States, Canada, and Australia have been restructured to reflect the adoption by health services of the industrial model of continuous quality improvement. The industrial model of quality makes assumptions about management structures and the relation of process to outcome which are not readily transferable to the assessment of quality in health care. The accreditation systems have therefore had to adapt the principles of continuous quality improvement to reflect the complex nature of health service organisations and the often untested assumptions about the relation between process and outcome.

Full text

PDF
212

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Berman S., Benes R., Carol R. National Demonstration Project and Joint Commission forums celebrate successes and address future needs in quality improvement, II: Joint Commission's fourth annual National Forum on Health Care Quality Improvement. QRB Qual Rev Bull. 1992 Mar;18(3):108–113. doi: 10.1016/s0097-5990(16)30517-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Berwick D. M. Continuous improvement as an ideal in health care. N Engl J Med. 1989 Jan 5;320(1):53–56. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198901053200110. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brooks T., Pitt C. The standard bearers. Health Serv J. 1990 Aug 30;100(5216):1286–1287. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Collopy B. T., Balding C. The Australian development of national quality indicators in health care. Jt Comm J Qual Improv. 1993 Nov;19(11):510–516. doi: 10.1016/s1070-3241(16)30032-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Collopy B. T. Extending facility accreditation to the evaluation of care: the Australian experience. Int J Health Plann Manage. 1995 Jul-Sep;10(3):223–229. doi: 10.1002/hpm.4740100308. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Decker M. D. Continuous quality improvement. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1992 Mar;13(3):165–169. doi: 10.1086/646501. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Donabedian A. Evaluating the quality of medical care. Milbank Mem Fund Q. 1966 Jul;44(3 Suppl):166–206. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Donabedian A. The Lichfield Lecture. Quality assurance in health care: consumers' role. Qual Health Care. 1992 Dec;1(4):247–251. doi: 10.1136/qshc.1.4.247. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Donabedian A. The quality of care. How can it be assessed? JAMA. 1988 Sep 23;260(12):1743–1748. doi: 10.1001/jama.260.12.1743. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Heidemann E. G. Client-centered accreditation. Int J Health Plann Manage. 1995 Jul-Sep;10(3):209–222. doi: 10.1002/hpm.4740100307. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Knaus W. A., Draper E. A., Wagner D. P., Zimmerman J. E. An evaluation of outcome from intensive care in major medical centers. Ann Intern Med. 1986 Mar;104(3):410–418. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-104-3-410. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kritchevsky S. B., Simmons B. P. Continuous quality improvement. Concepts and applications for physician care. JAMA. 1991 Oct 2;266(13):1817–1823. doi: 10.1001/jama.266.13.1817. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lloyd P. J. The Australian model of hospital accreditation: a discussion. Aust Health Rev. 1987;10(2):171–178. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Lohr K. N. Outcome measurement: concepts and questions. Inquiry. 1988 Spring;25(1):37–50. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Longo D. R., Wilt J. E., Laubenthal R. M. Hospital compliance with Joint Commission standards: findings from 1984 surveys. QRB Qual Rev Bull. 1986 Nov;12(11):388–394. doi: 10.1016/s0097-5990(16)30085-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Nash D. B. Is the quality cart before the horse? JAMA. 1992 Aug 19;268(7):917–918. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. O'Leary D. S. A concept in search of fulfillment. J Med Assoc Ga. 1987 Aug;76(8):569–572. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. O'Leary D. S. Accreditation in the quality improvement mold--a vision for tomorrow. QRB Qual Rev Bull. 1991 Mar;17(3):72–77. doi: 10.1016/s0097-5990(16)30432-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Palmer R. H., Reilly M. C. Individual and institutional variables which may serve as indicators of quality of medical care. Med Care. 1979 Jul;17(7):693–717. doi: 10.1097/00005650-197907000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Roberts J. S., Coale J. G., Redman R. R. A history of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals. JAMA. 1987 Aug 21;258(7):936–940. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Schyve P. Models for relating performance measurement and accreditation. Int J Health Plann Manage. 1995 Jul-Sep;10(3):231–241. doi: 10.1002/hpm.4740100309. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Scrivens E. E., Klein R., Steiner A. Accreditation: what can we learn from the Anglophone model? Health Policy. 1995 Dec;34(3):193–204. doi: 10.1016/0168-8510(95)00766-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Skolnick A. A. Joint Commission will collect, publicize outcomes. JAMA. 1993 Jul 14;270(2):165–171. doi: 10.1001/jama.270.2.165. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Sofaer S., Myrtle R. C. Interorganizational theory and research: implications for health care management, policy, and research. Med Care Rev. 1991 Winter;48(4):371–409. doi: 10.1177/002570879104800402. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Quality in Health Care are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES