Includes bibliographical references and index.

Setting the context for measurement -- Why are you measuring? -- Measuring the voice of the customer -- Milestones in the quality measurement journey -- Organizing indicators into a strategic dashboard -- Tapping the knowledge that hides in data -- Overcoming numerical illiteracy -- Understanding variation with run charts -- Understanding variation with Shewhart charts -- Applying quality measurement principles.

Written by an internationally-recognized expert in the field of quality management, this text is an essential guide for understanding how to plan and implement a successful quality measurement program in your healthcare facility. It begins by presenting an overview of the context for quality measurement, the forces influencing the demand for quality reform, how to listen to the voice of the customer, and the characteristics of quality that customers value most. Students will also learn how to select and define indicators to collect data and how to organize data into a dashboard that can provide feedback on progress toward quality measurement. Finally, this book explores how to analyze the data by detailing how variation lives in your data, and whether this variation is acceptable. Case studies are provided to demonstrate how quality measurement can be applied to clinical as well as operational aspects of healthcare delivery.