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Setting a Goal and a Deadline for Improving Health Care Quality

Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP; David R. Calkins, MD, MPP; C. Joseph McCannon, BA; Andrew D. Hackbarth, BA

JAMA. 2006;295:324-327.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A half decade has elapsed since the Institute of Medicine released 2 landmark reports on health care safety and quality, To Err Is Human¹ and Crossing the Quality Chasm.² Those studies helped articulate a broad agenda for quality improvement in health care, and examples of success on a small scale are numerous. However, the collective impact of improvement work has been far below the potential envisioned by the Institute of Medicine. Health care can benefit now from a new sense of urgency, with levels of discipline and pace akin to those of a political campaign.

Political campaigns cannot afford patience. Political campaign professionals often cite the rule: "Some is not a number; soon is not a time." A campaign works with a firm target: 50% plus one: the number of votes . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Campaign Interventions

Author Affiliations: Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Cambridge, Mass. Dr Berwick is the president and chief executive officer.

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