Contributor:

Donald Berwick, MD, MPP, President and CEO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement

So you want to improve the quality of health care. But what, specifically, should you aim to improve? In this video, IHI’s CEO Don Berwick describes a 2001 report by the Institute of Medicine, Crossing the Quality Chasm, that laid the foundation for health care reform all over the world.

Learning Objectives

After watching this video, students will be able to:

• Recall the six dimensions of health care quality listed in a 2001 Institute of Medicine report titled, Crossing the Quality Chasm.

Discussion Group Questions

1. Don Berwick describes six dimensions of quality in health care: safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, and equity. Have you ever encountered a failure in any of these areas as a patient or as a clinician? Describe the experience and how you would have liked it to be different.
2. In your hospital, clinic, or town, which of the six dimensions of quality presents the greatest challenge? In which area, if any, does your hospital, clinic, or town excel? What experiences have you had to support your views?