Abstract

This book provides readers with an invaluable set of tools to convert the endless challenges for quality and myriad opportunities for improvement into meaningful and useful change. It begins by considering how to manage primary care organisations in order to improve quality of care. Patient perspectives on quality are examined initially, moving onto market mechanisms and commissioning which are increasingly being used as levers for change. It also considers how general practices are regulated and held accountable for the quality of the services they provide. All doctors work within teams, organisations and the wider health system. How these are designed and managed greatly determines individual and team effectiveness. Reflecting on this, leadership, management and the right organisational culture are reviewed. Prompts for personal reflection are included throughout the book, enabling practitioners to use personal experiences to transform the services provided. It also explores various techniques used for assessing and measuring quality of care, commonly used quality improvement frameworks along with the burgeoning sciences of process control, systems and spread. Quality Improvement in Primary Care is a highly practical introductory primer for quality improvement, relevant to every individual working and learning in primary healthcare and the wider health service.