title: How a continuous quality improvement plan can reduce the risk of surgical infection in the operating room.
abstract: As new technology has pioneered and improved the health care arena, so has change in the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations accreditation process. The focus has moved from identifying quality concerns and implying disincentives to that of monitoring and evaluating, using models and teams to address problems identified within accepted processes to quality improvement, improving patient outcomes, and greater job satisfaction among health care staff. The application of the principles of continuous quality improvement create additional paper and work but the results can be a motivated staff that continuously seeks to improve the processes in delivering the highest quality patient care possible. Continuous quality improvement should be reviewed as a positive solution to create change in health care delivery, improving patient outcome, enhance job satisfaction, and as an active approach to meeting quality improvement goals-improved patient outcome.
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Oglesby
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D009873:Operating Rooms; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017749:Total Quality Management