Quality is measured in terms of structure, process, and outcomes within a health care organization. The Baldridge Award Criteria looks at quality across seven dimensionsthree structural and three processand is a systematic approach linking them to outcomes. Chapter 7 in the text describes three major quality improvement methods: Continuous Quality Improvement, Six Sigma, and Toyota Production System/Lean. Each have a common goal but have differentiating components. For example, CQI has developed FOCUS for use prior to the PDCA, and Six Sigma is best applied to important, costly issues due to its resource intensity, and Lean has a major focus on value and waste. Measurement, process variation, and statistical process control are common concepts to all three methods. The importance of identifying and defining what needs to be measured is an important first step.

There are multiple sites on the Internet that share provider quality outcomes, in other words, their quality measures. The sites provide information on hospitals, nursing homes, physicians, and so forth, and provide methods by which to do comparisons. One such site is the Compare page atMedicare. In our text on page 158 is a list of other research resources available for your review.

Choose a provider and using one of the sites provided in the textbook, use your own ZIP code to research provider types in your area. Make note of some areas of strengths and weaknesses. You will use this information to respond to the discussion.

Referring to the provider you chose to research in the discussion preparation:

• Identify the provider type you selected and what you believe to be the three best quality performance indicators for that provider type. Be sure to provide support for your position.
• What is a quality improvement method that might benefit the selected provider type in your area?
• What would be the intended outcome of that method?