The CEO experience. TQM/CQI.

The total quality movement is transforming hospital leadership. CEOs are finding that signing on to a TQM or CQI program requires intensive commitment, as well as adjustments to management style and scheduling. And it raises a host of questions about how to initiate and manage such a program--and even what to call it (TQM versus CQI). But CEOs seem ready to accept the challenge. An exclusive Hospitals survey finds that over 60 percent of the CEOs involved in TQM/CQI programs believe their involvement is "the most important thing I've ever done." Still, the proliferation of TQM/CQI in hospitals has created a backlash in the field; Donald Berwick, M.D., the "father" of TQM in health care, explains why.