Development of a quality assurance program as an integral part of the physical therapy system.

The purposes of this article are to describe the conditions that must be met and the process that must be carried out to develop, implement, and evaluate a quality assurance program. The conditions to be met are administrative support for the program; knowledge of quality assurance theories and components (including structure, process, and outcome standards); and a commitment of the department members to quality assurance. The participative approach to program development is essential to the acceptance and implementation of the program. The process is cyclical in nature with the actual program design based on the needs of the people to be served. The department's policies and procedures manual provides the appropriate place for the documentation of the program standards so they are easily accessible to all staff and are an integral part of the delivery system. External peer review is used in measuring the potential for success of the program's structure.