Bridges W
New York, New York: Perseus Books Group; 1980

This book helps to guide individuals through transitions during difficult periods in their lives. Strategies put forward help one cope with painful and concerning issues.

Brailer DJ. Decade of Health Information Technology: Delivering Consumer-centric and Information-rich Health Care. US Department of Health and Human Services. 2004.

On July 21, 2004, the US Department of Health and Human Services released a report on the progress of the strategic plan to guide nationwide adoption of health information technology in both the public and private sectors. The report outlines the framework for 12 strategies that will achieve four goals: 1) introduction of information tools into clinical practice; 2) electronically connecting clinicians to other clinicians; 3) using information tools to personalize care delivery; and 4) advancing surveillance and reporting for population health improvement.

Full Text Available! Click View Report below.

Øvretveit J. The leader's role in quality and safety improvement: A review of research and guidance. Swedish Association of County Councils. 2004.

The Swedish Association of County Councils, Stockholm (Lanstingsforbundet), has produced this review of research and guidance in order to further develop its leaders for Quality and Safety Improvement.  The report speaks to the body of research conducted on the leadership role and provides evidenced-based guidance and checklists to help leaders advance their quality and safety agendas.

*The article is linked here with permission from the Swedish Association of County Councils.

Berry LL, Mirabito AM, Berwick DM. A health care agenda for business. MIT Sloan Management Review. 2004;45(4):56-64.

In this article, the authors address the growing crisis of rising health care costs, and the effects that these yearly increases have on businesses in the US. The authors recommend partnerships between business and health care as a means to find a solution to this problem.

Enthoven A, Tollen L
San Francisco, California, USA: Jossey Bass; 2004

A book of essays which provide concrete solutions for the myriad of problems that we face in our health care system.  The main focus is on prepaid group practices as a means of cost control within health care.

Harrison B, Thomson A, Wilson R, Der Vartanian C. Final Project Report: Blood Transfusion Improvement Collaborative. BTIC Project Office. 2003.

This report details the work of the New South Wales Blood Transfusion Improvement Collaborative in Australia. The project, based on the IHI Collaborative model, aimed to reduce inappropriate red blood cell transfusions by 50 percent in 12 months.

Majchrzak A, Malhotra A, Stamps J, Lipnack J. Can absence make a team grow stronger? Harvard Business Review. May 2004;82(5):131-137, 152.

This article describes a study which demonstrates that remote teams working at various locations can still be as productive, if not more so, as teams working closely together in one location.  The key is to have a strong leader who can manage the team from a distance.

Speroff T, O'Connor GT. Study designs for PDSA quality improvement research. Quality Management in Health Care. Jan-Mar 2004;13(1):17-32.

This article documents a study to test the effectiveness of using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle in testing and implementing quality improvement in hospital settings.  The study, as well as results and conclusions, are described in depth.

Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, eds. (Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, Institute of Medicine)
Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press; 1999

This report lays out a comprehensive strategy to reduce medical errors for government, industry, consumers, and health care providers, and it calls on the United States Congress to create a national patient safety center to develop the new tools and systems needed to address persistent problems. Each chapter of the report contains a reference list, allowing the reader to select additional material in specific areas of interest.

Chesanow N. Pick the team, and write the game plan. Medical Economics. Feb 2000:77(4):74-76, 79-80, 83-84.

This article provides tips for redesigning the care team to improve satisfaction and productivity within office practices. 

Full Text Available! Click View Article below.