Manufacturing's prescription for improving healthcare quality.

In this article, the author provides an account of the benefits of using Statistical Process Control and Six Sigma to measure and improve healthcare quality. Through data analysis, the process variations that diminish quality can be evaluated and minimized. W. Edwards Deming's management theory taught that variation reduction enabled continuous improvement and that statistical methods were the key to achieving this. Although the methodology was created for the manufacturing environment, service industry professionals have discovered its value for objective, data-driven decision making.