Quality in clinical genetics.

Application of quality improvement techniques to medical care has the potential to improve the quality of care, reduce variability in practice, and optimize medical and service outcomes and cost. While becoming more common in other specialties, clinical genetics is only beginning to address these issues. There are a number of challenges to the application of quality improvement to a specialty where rare and ultra-rare disorders are the rule rather than the exception. This article briefly reviews some of these challenges while introducing the articles in this issue of Seminars. 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.