Total quality management in orthodontic practice.
Quality is the buzz word for the new Millennium. Patients demand it, and we must serve it. Yet one must identify it. Quality is not imaging or public relations; it is a business process. This short article presents quality as a balance of three critical notions: core clinical competence, perceived values that our patients seek and want, and the cost of quality. Customer satisfaction is a variable that must be identified for each practice. In my practice, patients perceive quality as communication and time, be it treatment or waiting time. Time is a value and cost that must be managed effectively. Total quality management is a business function; it involves diagnosis, design, implementation, and measurement of the process, the people, and the service. Kazien is a function that reduces value services, eliminates waste, and manages time and cost in the process. Total quality management is a total commitment for continuous improvement.
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D002983:Clinical Competence; D006801:Humans; D009970:Orthodontics / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011215:Practice Management, Dental / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000191:economics; D017748:Time Management; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods