Quality Improvement By Providers: Market Developments Hinder Progress

Providers report maintaining, but not greatly enhancing, their quality improvement (QI) programs between 1999 and 2001. In addition, recent market developments are intensifying barriers to providers' QI efforts. A notable exception is the tremendous attention to medical errors, which is stimulating patient-safety activities in hospitals. It is too early to tell if the momentum from these activities can be sustained and provide a spark for revolutionary changes in QI more broadly.