However, some do not recognize that purchasers also can lead the process effectively. A blueprint for change. The good news is that relevant tools already exist for effecting process improvement. They originate from the manufacturing industry, which was stymied during the 1970s and 1980s by a similar malaise. The industry learned how to employ process excellence tools to reorganize, retool and drive systematic change through continuous quality improvement.
Quality Is Free introduced American companies to a formal process for ensuring quality.
This was followed shortly by Total Quality Management, a Japanese import that became the American business cult of the 1980s. With the subsequent emergence of a more global economy, much of corporate America focused on achieving ISO 9000 accreditation, which establishes international standards for quality management. Today, formal quality initiatives are an integral part of many American business cultures, including service organizations. They already are being deployed in the healthcare arena by Honeywell and General Electric. While full-scale implementation among healthcare organizations will prove challenging, the concepts are a natural fit.