title: Quality quagmire. Why systems and processes are important to your practice but often ignored.
abstract: The overuse, underuse and misuse of medical procedures in our nation is staggering. The Institute of Medicine, in two seminal reports, has brought to public attention the crisis in quality that afflicts the American medical system. Until recently, the movement toward quality has focused on hospitals, but now medical practices are joining in. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Medical Group Management Association Center for Research, individual medical groups and others are pushing for studies of health care quality in the ambulatory setting and for solutions that keep patients safer.
authors.affiliation: cpope@mgma.com
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pope
mesh_terms: D006123:Group Practice / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration; D014481:United States