Colmers JM. Commission on a High Performance Health System. Public Reporting and Transparency. New York, New York: The Commonwealth Fund; February 2007.

This report provides a brief history of efforts in the US to make information on health system performance (cost and quality) more transparent and publicly available. Key policy issues are explored, as well as lessons from the experience of public reporting efforts to date.

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Berwick DM. An Agenda for Patient Safety and Quality in Wales. Plenary address to the Welsh Assembly Government and Wales Centre for Health in Cardiff, Wales. Institute for Healthcare Improvement unpublished manuscript; January 15, 2007.

In January 2007, Dr. Donald Berwick, President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, addressed senior government and health care leaders at a conference in Wales to explore establishing a national agenda for patient safety and quality. The Welsh Assembly Government and the Wales Centre for Health asked Dr. Berwick to speak to the necessary role that leaders must play in supporting effective system redesign and continual improvement in health care.

Jensen K, Mayer TA, Welch S, Haraden C
Chicago, Illinois: Health Administration Press with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement; 2007

This book provides the inspiration, information, and ideas you need to lead patient flow improvement efforts at your organization. You will learn from the successes and failures of the authors — health care leaders who have played pivotal roles in patient flow improvement projects. The fundamentals of patient flow are explained and a solid business case for pursuing improvement efforts is provided. Real-life examples explain common patient flow theories and improvement methods. The heart of the book focuses on the practical information and leadership techniques needed to foster change and remove the barriers to smooth patient flow.

Bisognano M, Lloyd R, with Schummers D
Chicago, Illinois: Health Administration Press with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement; 2007

This is the third book in a series for health care executives designed to share innovations in patient care that are reliable, ready for implementation, and have been used successfully. Each chapter provides a description of the idea, an example of it in practice, and the results that have been achieved, where available. Topics include: Using Early-Detection and Monitoring Systems; Transforming the Discharge Process; Implementing WalkRounds to Address Safety Issues; Accelerating Improvement; Establishing Red Rules to Increase Reliability; others.

Saver C. Beyond expectations: Part 2. Nursing Management. 2006 Nov;37(11):17-23.

This second article of a two-part series describes how nurse leaders and other members of quality improvement teams participating in IHI's 100,000 Lives Campaign were able to reduce mortality in their hospitals.

Saver C. Beyond expectations: Part 1. Nursing Management. 2006 Oct;37(10):36-42.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement estimates that hospitals participating in the 100,000 Lives Campaign saved more than 122,300 lives in 18 months. This first article of a two-part series examines how the results were calculated and the impact on quality and the bottom line.

Bengoa R, Kawar R, Key P, Leatherman S, Massoud R, Sturno P. Quality of care: A process for making strategic choices in health systems. World Health Organization Press. 2006:1-50.

This guide provides decision makers and managers at country level with a systematic process which will allow them to design and implement effective interventions to promote quality in health systems. It focuses particular attention on people who have a strategic responsibility for quality so that they can create an enabling environment for all the quality improvement initiatives being undertaken at the medical care level and reinforce their chances of success and sustainability.

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Sadler BL. To the class of 2005: Will you be ready for the quality revolution? Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Safety in Healthcare. 2006 Jan;32(1):51-55.

This article is based on the commencement address given by Blair L. Sadler, JD, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Hospital and Health Center of San Diego, on June 5, 2005, to the graduating class of the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine.

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Commission on a High Performance Health System. Framework for a High Performance Health System for the United States. New York, New York: The Commonwealth Fund; August 2006.

This report offers the first ever scorecard of how the US health care system compares, as a whole, to top performers in 37 categories. Despite spending the most on health care, the United States lags behind other industrialized nations on many dimensions of health system performance. The report identifies the most critical sources of failure in the current US health care system and offers a strategic framework for addressing them that includes significantly expanded access, higher quality, and greater efficiency for all Americans.

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Reinertsen J. Understanding and improving clinical quality: The role of trustees. 2003.

This article answers a question that often troubles Board members in health care organizations: "What is the role of the Board in improving clinical quality?  How does the Board's role relate to the roles of the administrators and medical staff members?"

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