Curing Health Care: New Strategies for Quality Improvement—A Report on the National Demonstration Project on Quality Improvement in Health Care

Abstract

This book is an exposition of the aims, organization, and design of the National Demonstration Project (NDP), which began when a group of over 100 clinicians, health care executives, and industrial quality control specialists held the September 1987 inaugural meeting on Quality Improvement in Health Care. The NDP brought together 21 experts in quality management from major American companies, universities, and consulting firms and matched them with leadership teams representing 21 American health organizations—hospitals, health maintenance organizations, and group practices. After two days of workshops and training, each team produced a formal statement of the issues to be tackled, a work plan, and an agreement to return to Boston eight months later to report progress. The costs were underwritten by the John A. Hartford Foundation. Two of the 21 teams abandoned participation because of unanticipated organizational changes, and the book is based on examples from 17 of the original teams,