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Total quality management in health: making it work
1School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Health Care Management Review
|January 1, 1990
Summary
Total Quality Management (TQM) in healthcare introduces significant shifts, creating potential conflicts between participation and authority, collective versus individual responsibility, and standards versus continuous improvement. This review outlines these conflicts and provides guidelines for successful TQM implementation.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Organizational Behavior
- Quality Improvement
Background:
- Healthcare organizations are increasingly adopting Total Quality Management (TQM).
- TQM represents a fundamental paradigm shift in healthcare management practices.
- This shift introduces potential areas of conflict within organizational structures and operations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the key conflict areas arising from TQM implementation in health organizations.
- To identify and analyze the tensions between TQM principles and existing healthcare management practices.
- To propose actionable guidelines for successful TQM adoption in the healthcare sector.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of Total Quality Management (TQM) principles and their application in healthcare.
- Analysis of potential conflict points within healthcare management frameworks.
- Synthesis of findings to develop implementation guidelines.
Main Results:
- Identified key conflict areas: participatory approach vs. authority, collective vs. individual responsibility, quality assurance vs. continuous improvement, and flexible vs. rigid objectives.
- Highlighted the inherent tensions in integrating TQM's philosophy into traditional healthcare hierarchies.
- Recognized the need for strategic planning to navigate these conflicts.
Conclusions:
- Successful TQM implementation requires addressing inherent conflicts proactively.
- Guidelines are suggested to facilitate the integration of TQM principles into healthcare management.
- Strategic alignment and clear communication are crucial for overcoming implementation challenges.