Issues in the assessment of continuous quality improvement implementation in health care organizations

This paper has two primary aims. First, it examines the need for improved assessment of continuous quality improvement implementation. Second, it analyzes current worldwide measures and studies of continuous quality improvement implementation.

A comprehensive literature review was conducted which included all published (English language) studies of organization-wide continuous quality improvement implementation.

Analysis of the content and research methods incorporated into current measures of continuous quality improvement implementation used worldwide supports a strong consensus regarding the major criteria that need to be addressed. However, there are still promising areas for future research, namely increased use of criteria other than the Baldrige categories, increased focus upon financial variables, improved measures of implementation stage/phase and the use of different types of respondents from multiple organizational levels.

Increased understanding of the empirical benefits and costs of continuous quality improvement in health care organizations is heavily contingent upon the continued development and improvement of measures of continuous quality improvement implementation.