A quality assurance model for multidivision clinical departments

Structuring a workable quality assurance (QA) program for multidivision and multispecialty clinical departments presents a considerable challenge. The Medical Center of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) found that QA activities in such departments were best handled by a committee of department physicians assisted by a QA staff person. This article provides examples of how two departments at the UCSF medical center structured QA committees to fit their departments' individual needs and explains how these committees fit in the medical center's overall QA program.