Discussion of Richman's “Ten Assumptions Which Cripple Psychiatrists' Participation in Quality Assurance Activities”

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses Dr. Richman's assumptions in the context of an organization's total functioning. The word assumption implies a belief based on lack of data, knowledge, or understanding. The person or group, using an assumption usually, will discourage any questioning of its validity. To be efficient and effective in evaluation, it is necessary to have a model of the organization, which allows one to identify past assumptions and to set clear objectives for each area of functioning. The model needs to be broad enough to remain valid, no matter what is altered in the organization. The model only needs to comprise a limited number of areas into which all functions of the organization can be grouped. The chapter further explains that Venn diagram is useful for describing an organization in a functional manner—it encourages staff to think in broad all-encompassing terms, while at the same time consciously recognizing previous assumptions in every aspect of their work and changing these into testable hypotheses.