This paper describes and supports a proposal for a research study of the application of quality management techniques in the military health care environment. Included in this chapter are a discussion of the background information on the problem to be investigated; a statement of the problem that will be investigated; a statement of the purpose of the proposed study; a discussion of the rational basis for the conduct of the proposed study; a statement of the research questions that will be investigated, together with a statement of the hypotheses that will be tested; operational definitions of variable terms included in the hypotheses; a statement of the assumptions underlying the proposed study, together with limitations associated with the proposed research; and a description of the organization of the remainder of the proposed study.
Dynamic change characterizes the American health care delivery environment in the 1990s. Within such an environment, institutional care providers in particular must develop and implement new and effective strategies if they are to remain viable entities.
The changes in the health care delivery environment result from a combination of factors (increasing costs of health care, changing societal values, advances in treatment therapies, changing demographics, and many others). Cost is a major factor involved in changes in the delivery of health care services. It
is, therefore, imperative for health care delivery 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 and Harvey, 1992, p. 40).
The need to improve quality and control costs is especially applicable to military health care institutions. Proposed national health care reform, increased consumer demands for quality health care, and public outcries for the control ...