Why healthcare leadership should embrace quality improvement (BMJ, 31 March 2020)

Summary

In this article for the BMJ, John R Drew, an improvement and culture consultant and Meghana Pandit, chief medical officer at Oxford University NHS Foundation Trust, argue that quality improvement (QI) should be a core tenet of how healthcare organisations are run. They highlight that some of the conditions and assumptions required for QI are at odds with prevailing management practices, with staff feeling more valued and respected while going through the QI process. They discuss the following subjects and questions:

• QI as the basis of management
• When do QI and good management coalesce?
• So is QI just good management?
• How can we help leaders get on this path?