First published in 2001, this collection of leading-edge research from Europe and America explores both quantitative and qualitative approaches to identifying and remedying deficiencies in health care.

Manouche Tavakoli, Huw T.O. Davies

System Issues: The sisyphean challenge: health services integration, Thomas G. Rundall; Process innovation in health care: a new model for the new knowledge economy, Mattia J. Gilmartin and David Melzer. Bringing About Quality Improvement: Challenges on the road to clinical governance: the United Kingdom's strategy for health care quality improvement, Andrew B. Bindman; Health reforms and quality of care: lessons learnt from Ghana and Central America, Victoria Doyle and David Haran; Life cycles in vivo: views from the front line in the implementation of a performance management system, Peter Buckley and James Watkin; Benchmarking bed management: the state of the art? an exploration of best practice in bed management, Ruth Boaden, Paul Haywood, John Turner and Mary Massey; Quality of care: should we legislate or educate? the nursing home scenario as a case study, Carmel M. Hughes; Transformational change of health care quality: systemic reorientation - not magic bullets, Huw Talfryn Oakley Davies. Variations in Health Care: Variance in practice emergency medical admission rates: is it due to patients, doctors or society?, Rebecca Duffy and Harry Staines; Variations in general practitioner referral rates: are there lessons in the literature?, Catherine A. O'Donnell; Going public on clinical performance: lessons from the USA, Martin N. Marshall; On the limitations and pitfalls of performance measurement systems in health care, Russell Mannion, Maria Goddard and Peter C. Smith. Incorporating User Views: What do older people expect from health and social care in the community?, P. Kliempt, Danny Ruta, Simon Ogston and Marion E.T. McMurdo; Serving all the community? the views and preferences of lesbian and gay consumers of health care, Yaniv Poria, Adrian Coyle and Terry Dessombre; Strategic health care policy and development for Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, Lynette Stewart, Louise Davis and Sharon Shea. Choice: Limited access to alternative Models of Maternity Care in the UK: Barriers to Change, J.S. Tucker, Wendy Graham and Marion Hall.