CHAPTER 7
Quality for Less and for All

Continuous improvement is about removing the things that get in the way of your work. The headaches, the things that slow you down, that’s what continuous improvement is all about.

—BRUCE HAMILTON

If your family has health insurance and an insured loved one is in need of a medical procedure, does the cost of that procedure matter to you? If you are a healthcare provider and there are two treatment options available that are likely to produce similar outcomes, how much does the price of each option affect the one you choose? When it comes to health and/or lifesaving interventions, what role should cost play? Given concerns over maximizing the effectiveness of healthcare dollars and government debates about healthcare reform, healthcare quality is now being graded not only on clinical outcomes, but also on the cost efficiencies with which those outcomes are achieved.