Impacting quality in health care: the role of the health systems engineer.

Total Quality Management (TQM) is just beginning to influence hospital operations. The health systems engineer (HSE) is uniquely qualified and in an opportune position to expedite the implementation of TQM in hospitals. We discuss how we envision the HSE's roles as technical facilitator, measurer, and modeler in supporting the principles of quality improvement in the hospital. In the process, we suggest that the HSE can be much more valuable in helping the hospital reduce costs by improving quality rather than monitoring productivity. As a result, HSEs will expand their role in the hospital, better utilize their skills and training, and increase their effectiveness.