Volume 76 Number 4, 1998
Improving the Quality of Health Care
- Editor's Introduction: In This Issue
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How Good Is the Quality of Health Care in the United States?
Mark A. Schuster, Elizabeth A. McGlynn, and Robert H. Brook -
Is Health Care Ready for Six Sigma Quality?
Mark R. Chassin
(Featured article -- click here for full text) -
Assessing the Impact of Continuous Quality Improvement on Clinical Practice: What It Will Take to Accelerate Progress
Stephen M. Shortell, Charles L. Bennett, and Gayle R. Byck -
A Report Card on Continuous Quality Improvement
David Blumenthal and Charles M. Kilo -
The Impact of Financial Incentives on Quality of Health Care
R. Adams Dudley, Robert H. Miller, Tamir Y. Korenbrot, and Harold S. Luft
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Increased Competition and the Quality of Health Care
Jane E. Sisk -
The Role of Regulation in Quality Improvement
Troyen A. Brennan -
Observations from the Field
Patrick H. Mattingly -
Competition, Quality of Care, and the Role of Consumers
Catherine G. McLaughlin and Paul B. Ginsburg -
Regulatory Realities and Hopes
Velvet G. Miller -
Health Care through a Six Sigma Lens
Charles R. Buck, Jr. -
Continuous Quality Improvement: Does It Make a Difference?
Helen Darling -
Quality at a Crossroads
Molly Joel Coye and Don E. Detmer
(Featured article -- click here for full text) - Notes on Contributors
Commentaries
A senior vice president of a leading not-for-profit health maintenance organization calls for more focused research on the financial incentives that affect the quality of care.
Two researchers in the field of health care financing discuss how the establishment of standards might encourage consumers to participate more actively in choosing their health care providers.
A New Jersey health commissioner discusses how "responsive regulation" could improve the health care industry.
A General Electric executive discusses the "Six Sigma" model for quality that was initiated by the manufacturing sector.
A corporate benefits consultant suggests that dynamic leadership is needed to bring about a serious commitment to continuous quality improvement in the health care field.
Two leading health policy experts summarize the highlights of the National Roundtable on Health Care Quality that was sponsored by the Institute of Medicine.
