Roadmaps for building a better system

SSM Health Care's (SSMHC) unwavering commitment to quality, even in the absence of a "business case," makes it exceptional at the outset. Winning the Baldrige prize also puts them in very elite company. SSMHC undertook this transformation because of its commitment to mission and becau...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers of health services management 2004, Vol.20 (3), p.25-28
Main Author: O'Kane, Margaret E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accreditation
Corporate culture
Efficiency
Employee benefits
Employers
Excellence
Health administration
Health Benefit Plans, Employee - economics
Health Benefit Plans, Employee - standards
Health care industry
Health care policy
Health insurance
Health Promotion
Hospitals
Humans
Industry - economics
Industry - standards
Leadership
Machinery
Multi-Institutional Systems - organization & administration
Multi-Institutional Systems - standards
Organizational Culture
Organizational Objectives
Performance evaluation
Power
Program Development
Quality of service
Reimbursement
Six Sigma
Staff Development
Total Quality Management - methods
United States
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Summary:SSM Health Care's (SSMHC) unwavering commitment to quality, even in the absence of a "business case," makes it exceptional at the outset. Winning the Baldrige prize also puts them in very elite company. SSMHC undertook this transformation because of its commitment to mission and because of a deep conviction that its quality could be improved, not because of any outside regulatory or market pressure. There are other examples of hospitals and healthcare systems with a similar zeal for excellence, but, unfortunately, they are all too few and exceptional in their own ways. Caterpillar, as a purchaser of healthcare, is exceptional in its own way. Caterpillar has made Six Sigma central to its own strategy, and its leaders understand in a profound way that variability is a sign that processes are not working well. For Caterpillar, the variability in healthcare is a large red flag of processes not even defined, let alone brought to optimal levels of performance.
ISSN:0748-8157
2475-2797
DOI:10.1097/01974520-200401000-00005