The quest for quality: perspectives from the safety net

The American healthcare system is in need of fundamental change. With more than a decade of annual forums on quality improvement in healthcare and alarming statistics ranking medical errors among the top 10 causes of death in the United States, hospitals and health systems across the country are responding with a coordinated approach to quality improvement. Parkland Health & Hospital System believes the ideal public hospital system requires three critical components to achieve the Institute of Medicine's quality aims: (I) an emphasis on quality that is embraced by senior leadership, (2) careful measurement selection, and (3) the development of a robust infrastructure for outcomes research. This article describes Parkland's approach to each component and takes a look at selected processes and outcomes.