Tool use and team success in continuous quality improvement: are all tools created equal?

This article describes a study that used data from the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services' Western Region TQI Registry to compare the relationship between theory tools, data tools, and perceived quality improvement. No significant bivariate relationship between the use of theory tools and perceived improvement was found, but there was a positive and significant relationship between the use of data tools and perceived improvement. The use of data management tools by all teams in the study was much lower than expected.