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Measuring Outcomes: Bringing Six Sigma Excellence to Health Care

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Healthcare Information Management Systems

Part of the book series: Health Informatics Series ((HI))

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Abstract

The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report on medical errors, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Care System, published in 2000, sent shock waves across the United States and across the healthcare industry [1]. As concern intensified, business coalitions, the insurance industry, state legislatures, health policy groups, and Congress have engaged to drive fundamental change in healthcare quality management in the U.S., focusing particularly on the measurement and analysis of care delivery practices and processes. Industry leaders acknowledge that this profound change will not come from within the industry but will be imposed upon the healthcare provider segment of the industry by external forces [2]. As they prepare to make this inevitable transformation, administrators and clinical leaders are looking for guidance as to the appropriate direction to take.

As new directions emerge in the management of healthcare quality in the United States, this chapter challenges the industry to look to Six Sigma for solutions.

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Authors
  1. Charlotte A. Weaver RN, MSPH, PhD
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  2. Tonya Hongsermeier MD, MBA
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Informatics Strategies, Healthlink Incorporated, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Marion J. Ball EdD (Vice President, Adjunct Professor) (Vice President, Adjunct Professor)

  2. School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Marion J. Ball EdD (Vice President, Adjunct Professor) (Vice President, Adjunct Professor)

  3. Cerner Corporation, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Charlotte A. Weaver (CNO and Vice President of Patient Care Systems) (CNO and Vice President of Patient Care Systems)

  4. Department of Health Management Systems John G. Rangos, Sr., School of Health Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Joan M. Kiel PhD, MPA, MPhil (Chairman) (Chairman)

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© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Weaver, C.A., Hongsermeier, T. (2004). Measuring Outcomes: Bringing Six Sigma Excellence to Health Care. In: Ball, M.J., Weaver, C.A., Kiel, J.M. (eds) Healthcare Information Management Systems. Health Informatics Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4041-7_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4041-7_24

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-2350-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-4041-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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