Information: The Key to Health Service Quality Available to Purchase

Total quality management (TQM) is one of many new quality initiatives being introduced in the NHS to improve the quality of information and overall service quality. Out‐patient departments were targeted by the Department of Health as an area in which to start quality improvements, particularly regarding the provision of information to patients. Describes a study undertaken in a rheumatology out‐patients clinic which examined the flow of information, where information can be improved and how TQM can help improvement. Based on the hypothesis that patients′ and staff′s perceptions of information quality differ to the extent that some patients are not satisfied with information quality and this is inconsistent with a TQM approach. The quality of information was measured in three areas: sufficiency, understanding, and selectivity. A structured questionnaire was used and 80 patients and 11 staff were interviewed. Discusses differences in perceptions of information. Further research is needed to make a detailed study of information flow and to identify specific areas of information provision for improvement.