How to use continuous quality improvement theory and statistical quality control tools in a multispecialty clinic.

The management philosophy of continuous quality improvement (CQI) and the tools of statistical quality control (SQC) have the potential for advancing quality management in medicine as they have in industry. The authors report their favorable experience with the approach and explain how to adapt CQI principles and SQC charts and graphs, citing examples from their participation in a quality improvement effort in a multispecialty clinic serving a large hospital. The coupling of statistical techniques with modern approaches to outcome analysis may provide powerful tools not only for quality assurance and assessment but also for technology evaluation and resource allocation.