TOTAL QUALITY SERVICE IN HEALTHCARE

Healthcare industry is among the most rapidly growing service industries in the world today. The central theme of all healthcare systems is “quality” and it needs to be managed effectively for their survival and performance excellence in today’s business environment. Operationalization of the concept of quality at the organizational level has led to several innovations in quality management – from the traditional Quality Assurance (QA) to implementation of the philosophy of Total Quality Management (TQM).

The book reviews in detail the quality assurance, audit methods, ISO, quality award criteria and total quality management in healthcare. After an introductory chapter on the quality management in healthcare organizations, the book discusses core issues in healthcare quality, quality assurance mechanisms, total quality management and quality of healthcare services in India. Most recent developments like NABH accreditation for hospitals are also discussed. The last four chapters concentrate on the research on quality dimensions and investigations which finally led to the development of an integrative framework on total service quality management for hospitals. Besides, an analysis of research work in quality management in Indian hospitals is also included. The book thus makes a strong case for continuous improvement based on total quality service management criteria.

This research work adds to the healthcare quality management literature, especially in the Indian context, which is a very important emerging area.

Usha Manjunath is Associate Professor and Chairperson-Academics at Institute of Health Management Research, Bangalore. She has unique experience of allied health, entrepreneurship, management and healthcare services management. Her areas of interest in academics and research include Services/Healthcare Services Management, Principles of Management, Public & Private Healthcare, Marketing & Quality Management of Healthcare Services, Organizational Behaviour, Human Resource Management, Communication, and Entrepreneurship.

She has attended several national and international conferences and workshops and presented research papers as well as chaired sessions. She has also published research articles in reputed journals and is a peer reviewer of books and journals.