The field of public administration reaches across all aspects of social organization and behavior. Frequently, lessons of social organization are learned in very finite environments, such as health care, which can and should be carried over to other aspects of public administration. This research reviews a public administration article by Paul Batalden and Patricia Stoltz, entitled " A Framework for the Continual Improvement of Health Care: Building and Applying Professional and Improvement Knowledge to Test Changes in Daily Work," Joint Commission Journal on Quality Improvement (October 1993). A summary is provided of the major findings of the article, and it is then critiqued for the premises and methodology used in the study as well as for its findings. The greater lessons for the general field of public administration are also highlighted.
Hospital administrators are under pressure to provide a quality product at reasonable prices. As a result, all aspects of hospital structure and culture are under review, which places continuous improvement (CI) programs addressing quality and satisfaction in a more prominent role. Although the theory, data collection methods, and analysis techniques of continuous improvement have grown considerably since the days of quality assurance, clinical problems in healthcare organizations are also increasingly complex and difficult to solve. From this perspective, this article has a great deal to offer to current continuous improvement efforts.
Batalden and Stoltz's article proposes that CI and research are similar problem-solving approaches, based on philosophies that provide direction for theorizing, collecting and analyzing data, and identifying solutions. A clinical problem elaborates on the similarities of each approach. Finally, common misconceptions are discussed.
Hospital administrators are under pressure to provide a quality product at reasonable prices. As a result, all aspects of hosp...