Description
Quality improvement (QI) is embedded in the fabric of successful healthcare organisations across the world, with
healthcare professionals increasingly expected to develop and lead improvement as a core part of their clinical
responsibilities. As a result, QI is rapidly becoming a feature of the education and training programmes of all
healthcare professionals.
Written and edited by some of the leading clinicians and managers in the field, ABC of Quality Improvement is designed
for clinicians new to the discipline, as well as experienced leaders of change and improvement.
Providing comprehensive coverage and clear, succinct dex_scriptions of the major tools, techniques and approaches,
this new addition to the ABC series demystifies quality improvement and develops a broader understanding of what
constitutes quality in healthcare. With practical examples of improvement interventions and the common pitfalls that
can befall them, this book will support and enable readers to manage change projects within their own organisations.
Relevant to doctors, dentists, nurses, health service managers and support staff, medical students and doctors in
training, their tutors and trainers, and other healthcare professionals at various levels, ABC of Quality Improvement
will give readers the confidence to embark on their own improvement projects, whoever, and wherever they may be.
1 What is Quality? 1
Tim Swanwick and Emma Vaux
2 Quality Improvement 5
Cat Chatfield
3 Quality Improvement and the Healthcare Professional 10
Tricia Woodhead
4 Models of Improvement 14
Karen Evans
5 Getting People on Board 21
Lourda Geoghegan
6 Identifying a Problem 25
Ruth Glassborow
7 Understanding the Problem 29
Joanna Bircher
8 Developing and Testing Solutions 34
James Mountford
9 Measurement 39
Paul Sullivan
10 Embedding and Sustaining a Solution 45
John Dean
11 Spread and Dissemination 50
Aidan Fowler
12 Understanding Change 55
Brian Marshall
13 Creating Cultures of Improvement 59
Kiran Chauhan
14 The Future for Quality Improvement 64
Emma Vaux and Tim Swanwick
Index 69