title: SARS: a quality management test of our public health safety net.
abstract: Emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome in March 2003 tested all aspects of BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) operations. In addition to its public health responsibilities, BCCDC was pivotal in the science defining SARS. These events occurred under international scientific and media scrutiny over a 4-month period and were seen as an opportunity to learn about how the Centre performed under extreme pressure as a QM-based (quality-management-based) organization. A retrospective review of the QM practices over the previous 6-months was initiated on June 30, 2003. Key management documentation during the study period was reviewed. Structured interviews were conducted with front line personnel. Customized instrumentation was developed to correlate management decisions with recognized QM criteria: anticipatory management; keeping programs on track; ongoing adjustment, improvement, and revision; identifying and improving sources of error, waste, and redundancy; feedback from key stakeholders; and data-driven decision-making methods. The team structure between laboratory science and epidemiology was critical. This was attributed to the culture of scientific discovery of the organization. All knowledge gained was shared with other organizations around the world. The consensus is that British Columbia was very lucky this time around. This review is part of BCCDC's commitment to fighting emerging infectious diseases.
authors.affiliation: BC Centre for Disease Control, 655 W 12th Ave, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V5Z 4R4. rzapp@telus.net
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zapp
authors.forename: Mel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krajden
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lynch
mesh_terms: D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019058:Community Networks / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D011159:Population Surveillance; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D016730:Program Development; D011635:Public Health Administration / Q000592:standards*; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000379:methods*