Integrated approach to healthcare quality management: a case study

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to develop an integrated quality management model, which identifies problems, suggests solutions, develops a framework for implementation and helps evaluate performance of health care services dynamically.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses logical framework analysis (LFA), a matrix approach to project planning for managing quality. This has been applied to three acute healthcare services (Operating room utilization, Accident and emergency, and Intensive care) in order to demonstrate its effectiveness.

Findings

The paper finds that LFA is an effective method of quality management of hospital‐based healthcare services.

Research limitations/implications

This paper shows LFA application in three service processes in one hospital. However, ideally this is required to be tested in several hospitals and other services as well.

Practical implications

In the paper the proposed model can be practised in hospital‐based healthcare services for improving performance.

Originality/value

The paper shows that quality improvement in healthcare services is a complex and multi‐dimensional task. Although various quality management tools are routinely deployed for identifying quality issues in health care delivery and corrective measures are taken for superior performance, there is an absence of an integrated approach, which can identify and analyze issues, provide solutions to resolve those issues, develop a project management framework (planning, monitoring, and evaluating) to implement those solutions in order to improve process performance. This study introduces an integrated and uniform quality management tool. It integrates operations with organizational strategies.

Citation

Dey, P.K. and Hariharan, S. (2006), "Integrated approach to healthcare quality management: a case study", The TQM Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 6, pp. 583-605. https://doi.org/10.1108/09544780610707093