title: The theory, practice, and future of process improvement in general thoracic surgery.
abstract: Process improvement, in its broadest sense, is the analysis of a given set of actions with the aim of elevating quality and reducing costs. The tenets of process improvement have been applied to medicine in increasing frequency for at least the last quarter century including thoracic surgery. This review outlines the theory underlying process improvement, the currently available data sources for process improvement and possible future directions of research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, St Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis, Indiana. Electronic address: Richard.Freeman@StVincent.org.
authors.forename: Richard K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Freeman
mesh_terms: D017046:Cost Savings; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000592:standards; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D005544:Forecasting; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D012042:Registries / Q000592:standards; D013903:Thoracic Surgery / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D019616:Thoracic Surgical Procedures / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: cost; database; improvement; thoracic surgery