Ordering the correct diagnostic procedure for a patient is a measure of _________. When evaluating the process of
care, however, appropriateness is only half the story. The other half is in how well and how promptly (i.e. skill-fully)
the procedure was carried out.

"A quality improvement team is interested in determining the percentage of medication orders that are delivered to
nurses' stations within one hour of the order's receipt in the pharmacy. Before collecting data on this question, the
team should determine whether it believes that this percentage could differ by floor, time of day, day of week, type of
medication ordered, pharmacist on duty, or volume of orders received. If the team believes that one or more of these
factors will influence the outcome, it should take steps to ensure that it collects the data relevant to these factors each
ti me the pharmacy receives an order." This example explains:

The problem with using readily available, convenient data is that the data usually do a poor job of answering the
questions necessary to access performance. Ten years ago this "good enough" approach to data collection might have
been acceptable. Today, however, because of the increasing demand to demonstrate effectiveness of care and
efficiency of healthcare processes, this mind set is not acceptable. Performance quality and excellence do not occur
because organizations do what they have always done or what is convenient. Most healthcare observers agree that:

I n order to perform a task for which one is held accountable, there must be an equal balance between responsibility
and:

Many assume they understand how to fix the problem and do not probe beneath the surface of complaints and use
survey responses. Organizations should not be surprised by negative reports. Complaints about unhelpful office staff
could stem from many sources. For instance: