Quality in the Veterans Health Administration: Lessons from the People Who Changed the System [Hardcover]

Galen L. Barbour (Author), Larry Malby (Author), Richard R. Lussier (Author), R. W. Thomale Jr. (Author), Judith A. Lerner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0787902748 | ISBN-13: 978-0787902742 | Edition: 1

Transforming the VHA

?Courage, compassion, insight, and success--the story behind and about pivotal changes in one of America's great health care systems. Every potential patient (and that's all of us) should understand the issues that Galen Barbour addresses. There are clear implications for the entirety of American health care.?--Alfred S. Buck, executive vice president of performance measures and research, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

Editorial Reviews

Review

?This book provides a unique contribution by describing the implementation of total quality management from a total system perspective.? —Stephen M. Shortell, A.C. Buehler Distinguished Professor of Health Services Management, Northwestern University and author of Strategic Choices for America's Hospitals

?Courage, compassion, insight, and success--the story behind and about pivotal changes in one of America's great health care systems. Every potential patient (and that's all of us) should understand the issues that Galen Barbour addresses. There are clear implications for the entirety of American health care.? —Alfred S. Buck, executive vice president of performance measures and research, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

?Courage, compassion, insight, and success--the story behind and about pivotal changes in one of America's great health care systems. Every potential patient (and that's all of us) should understand the issues that Galen Barbour addresses. There are clear implications for the entirety of American health care.? —Alfred S. Buck, executive vice president of performance measures and research, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

?The book is a welcome addition to the quality library and a ?should read' for anyone trying to implement a change effort in a large bureaucracy.? —Gail Scott, Gail Scott & Associates, Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania and coauthor of Service Quality Improvement (1994)

"It is written by the men and women who were in the trenches during this process, and it is the first book to offer a comprehensive review of the TQI process in a federal hospital system."

From the Inside Flap

Health care organizations are faced with the dilemma of coping with shrinking resources, containing ever escalating costs, and meeting increased demands in order to remake their institutions into successful, customer-oriented delivery systems. A compelling challenge for any health care system might appear as an almost impossible task for a federal bureaucracy. How could the Veterans Health Administration--an organization that employs 190,000, treats one million hospitalized patients and twenty-five million outpatients annually, and has provided training to more than half of the practicing physicians in the United States--successfully rise to today's challenges in the delivery of health care?Quality in the Veterans Health Administration offers a detailed description of how the VHA health care system was transformed through the implementation of total quality improvement (TQI). Written by the men and women who were in the trenches during this unparalleled process, this is the first book to offer a comprehensive review of the TQI process in a federal hospital system. The book's numerous case studies, firsthand accounts, and team experiences will serve as successful examples for private health care institutions that are undergoing restructuring as well as models for large federal agencies who are mandated to ?do more with less.?In very human terms, the authors reveal the stumbling blocks and successes they experienced when implementing TQI throughout the VHA's health care system. The book is filled with practical lessons and valuable information including:** Examples of how to engage the support and enthusiasm of key leaders to help the project roll out smoothly** An approach for integrating the TQI system into a few divisions and refining the process before implementing into the whole system** A cost-saving, four-phase plan that transfers the major training and support responsibilities away from consultants to newly trained in-house personnel** A strategy

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (August 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787902748
• ISBN-13: 978-0787902742
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,970,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)