Quality measurement & improvement: Essential references

Donabedian A. Evaluating the Quality of Medical Care.

1966. Milbank Q. 2005;83(4):691-729. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0009.2005.00397.x. PMID: 16279964. PMCID: PMC2690293.

The three essential measure types in health care quality — outcome, process and structure — were first framed by Dr. Avedis Donabedian in this seminal publication that is a must-read for clinicians working on quality improvement. It is the basis for nearly all modern quality models in health care. 

Improvement Guide: A Practical Approach to Enhancing Organizational Performance (2nd Edition)

Langley GL, Moen R, Nolan KM, Nolan TW, Norman CL, Provost LP. The . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers; 2009.

How to improve requires using structured approaches to test, learn and measure. This book is considered by many quality leaders as the basic handbook. The authors worked with Deming and on many improvement initiatives in health care and other industries. The practical examples include appendices with tools and templates.

The Run Chart: A Simple Analytical Tool for Learning From Variation in Healthcare Processes.

Perla RJ, Provost LP, Murray SK.  BMJ Qual Saf. 2011;(1):46-51. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs.2009.037895. PMID: 21228075.

Run charts are easy to use in quality improvement projects, and this short article provides the basics in how to use, display and interpret data in this form.