A Philosophy Of Continuous Quality Improvement Approach

Every healthcare facility, every process has one thing in common, they all have room for improvement (Wennecke, 2008). The discussion in question, is debating which approach to quality management is best. Before this question can be answered, an understanding of the approaches must be reached. The approaches in question are Kaizan, Six Sigma, or simply making a master list of improvement strategies (Goetsch & Davis, 2014).

Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning, good change “kia, change and zen, good (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). The Kaizen philosophy is, good enough is never good enough. It is a philosophy of continuous quality improvement. It does not matter where the process or person is in the organization. People, process and management

The Kaizen approach ask the questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why and how (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). Asking the questions, Why is a task being performed this way? When should this task be performed? How should this task be performed? All these questions affect total quality. The ICU where I work has a higher than average number of patients on the ventilator days when compared to other facilities in our division. When we started asking Why? We discovered therapist and nurses were inconsistent in their approach to weaning ventilator patients. The older therapist had their tried and true way they have always done it. The younger therapist let the nurses guide them. As a result of asking questions, we developed a standardized format for weaning ventilators. Nurses and therapist were educated together on the new process for ventilator weaning. Improvement has already been noted in the number of patients on the ventilator

(2003). Why Total Quality Management Programs Do Not Persist: The Role of Management Quality and Implications for Leading a TQM Transformation. Decision Sciences, 34(4), 623-642. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5414.2003.02640.x

Continuous quality improvement is fundamental for success in today’s global marketplace (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). It is not a process for fixing errors, it is a culture of continually trying to do better. It looks at the organization critically and ranks it among others in its peer group. Continuous quality improvement is measured by outcomes and is process oriented. Whether the business is industrial manufacturing, hospitality or service oriented such as healthcare, there is a need for continuous quality improvement.

Total quality management exist in healthcare to improve outcomes. Data, such as days on vent or medication scanning can be measure to ensure compliance and rank with others in its peer group. When done correctly, total quality management will improve patient outcome and increase facility revenues.