The Best Practice: How the New Quality Movement is Transforming Medicine

Americans have always thought their healthcare system was the best in the world. But starting in the late 1990s, shocking reports emerged that showed this was far from the truth. Treatment-related deaths or “complications” were found to be the fifth leading cause of death for Americans, and hundreds of thousands of patients were being harmed by botched medical procedures.

Spurred by the quality crisis, a group of visionary physicians led by Donald Berwick and Paul Batalden embarked on a study of industrial “quality improvement” techniques, daring to apply them to the practice of medicine despite resistance from the medical community. The Best Practice tells the story of this burgeoning movement, and of how the medical landscape is being radically transformed—for the better.
 

Charles Kenney is the author of five works of nonfiction including John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Portfolio, Rescue Men, and three novels. A former Boston Globe journalist, he has served as a consultant to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts on the company's quality and safety initiative.