Total quality management: lessons learned from the medical practice environment

Experience in dealing with the application of total quality management (TQM) to the medical practice environment suggests some generic lessons that can be helpful in applying TQM in other health care settings. These lessons focus on the need to address the motivation for TQM and its potential value; understanding the barriers created by the organizational and industry culture; identifying the structural barriers within the organization; clearly stating the guiding principles of the TQM effort; implementing the correct management tools for implementation; and allowing users of TQM to create new ideas for the application of TQM in their organizations.