title: Evaluating the effectiveness of implementing quality management practices in the medical industry.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To discuss the effectiveness of 30 quality management practices (QMP) including Strategic Management, Balanced ScoreCard, Knowledge Management, and Total Quality Management in the medical industry.
  
  
  METHODS
  A V-shaped performance evaluation matrix is applied to identify the top ten practices that are important but not easy to use or implement. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is then utilized to find key factors to improve the implementation of the top ten tools.
  
  
  METHODS
  The questionnaires were sent to the nursing staff and administrators in a hospital through e-mail and posts. A total of 250 copies were distributed and 217 copies were valid.
  
  
  METHODS
  The importance, easiness, and achievement (i.e., implementation level) of 30 quality management practices were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Key factors for QMP implementation were sequenced in order of importance as top management involvement, inter-department communication and coordination, teamwork, hospital-wide participation, education and training, consultant professionalism, continuous internal auditing, computerized process, and incentive compensation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Top management can implement the V-shaped performance matrix to determine whether quality management practices need improvement and if so, utilize QFD to find the key factors for improvement.
authors.affiliation: Tsu-Ming Yeh, Department of Leisure and Recreation Management, Dayeh University, Taiwan, e-mail: tmyeh@mail.dyu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: T-M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: H-P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Lai
mesh_terms: D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017749:Total Quality Management