SPC in managed health care – how much variation is tolerable?

Disease management (DM) programs are being implemented throughout the health care delivery system as one way to contain costs, and they have demonstrated mixed efficacy. In most cases, DM programs have shown the best results when they promote access to preventive care services, and often have the poorest performance when they attempt to reduce variation. This paper examines the DM process as a seminal Continuous Quality Improvement intervention in health care. Medical experts have identified disease management as the premier method of influencing the cost and quality of health care as we move into the twentry‐first century. Results of interventions can be tracked and the quality of care is gradually being improved using these methodologies. The proposed presentation will detail the process and some examples of this approach