title: Total quality management: achieving service excellence.
abstract: Total Quality Management (TQM) provides a philosophy and a method for organizational renewal and redesign. It is based on the principle that productive work is accomplished through processes. Improving these processes requires the office team to objectively measure performance, discover root causes of problems, take corrective action, determine the effect of these actions, and secure achievements. TQM is a technique that provides a series of steps and set of tools. Through staff involvement and a desire for quality improvement, organizations involved in total quality note the accompanying satisfaction in taking constructive action, improving patient relations, and achieving service excellence. In today's competitive delivery environment, implementation of TQM can result in more satisfied patients, higher staff morale, and a more effective office team.
authors.affiliation: Minneapolis Education Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Adelson
mesh_terms: D003729:Dental Care / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011215:Practice Management, Dental; D017749:Total Quality Management