QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS

This research examines factors that may become obstacles in the implementation of quality improvement programs in health care organizations. Factors considered in this research are system change as an obstacle, xenophobia as an obstacle, organizational structure as an obstacle, defining and measuring quality as obstacles, organizational dissension as an obstacle, the process of quality improvement as an obstacle, and managed care as an obstacle.

The changes in the health care environment in the United States result from a combination of factorsùincreasing costs of health care, changing societal values, advances in treatment therapies, technological innovation, changing demographics, and many others. Cost is a major factor involved in changes in the delivery of health care delivery and support services. It is, therefore, imperative for health care delivery and support organizations to develop procedures that will lead to more effective and more efficient operations. The improvement of quality in all aspects of a health care institution's activities has been linked to this goal (Cleverly & Harvey, 1992).

Improving the quality of the care provided is widely suggested in the 1990s as the solution to the problems being faced by health care institutions. Many theorists and observers both inside and outside the medical establishment suggest that a quality improvement pro

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tive performance of an organization is dependent upon the effective management of conflict and change within the organization. In this context, the concepts of behavioral management become significant. 5. The manager is the individual within an organizational unit who is in a position to either insure than an organization will be a successful performer, or undermine any potential for successful performance. The underlying reason for resistance to change by individuals are insecurity, economics, and socio-psychological factors. Individuals develop a sense of well-being or security after adapting to an organizational pattern, and to changes to the status quo are viewed as threats to this security (Ozer, & Reise, 1994). The economic threat which is implicit in organizational change is similar for individuals at differing hierarchical levels of the organization; however, the economic threat may be viewed in different terms at the differing hierarchical levels. The lower level employee may worry over the possibility of being replaced by a machine, while the manager or administrator may be worried over the potential for redundancy resulting from a consolidation of managerial or administrative functions. So
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1502
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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