Quality Improvement in Healthcare: Personality Type and Mindfulness as Determinants

Abstract

Background: The emphasis on “quality” in the design of a management system for an organization was originally introduced through the work of W. Edwards Deming [1] who initially developed his QI principles to help the Toyota Motor Company increase their sales by improving the quality of their product. However, he also saw that these ideas could be applied to management of other types of organizations, such as health care organizations. Review: When applied to a clinical practice, QI is implemented by evaluation of structured clinical and administrative data [2], producing a “mindfulness” about QI that gives attention to several key principles: (i) focusing on data, (ii) care of patients, (iii) team problem solving, and ( iv) healthcare delivery processes that are similar for both the organization and for individual physician-patient relationship. In all instances, the effectiveness of an entire QI program is compromised if any of these principles is missing or inadequate. Such a deficiency is avoided best through a functional knowledge of personality type that increases communication at all levels. This creates a critically important organizational mindfulness for more effective QI team function and also for a more effective physician-patient encounter. The result is increased quality of outcomes at the individual patient level as well as the organizational level. Conclusion: The trend toward inclusion of mindfulness in healthcare develops an improved awareness of how well procedures, medications, and advice are provided.