Breakthrough Performance

ELLEN J. GAUCHER is group vice president for operations/quality and customer satisfaction at Wellmark, Inc., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa and South Dakota. She is associate editor for Aspen's Quality Management in Health Care and serves as a board member of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. RICHARD J. COFFEY, Ph.D., is director of program and operations analysis, and director of research and planning, at the University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has served in staff, consulting, and leadership roles in many university and community health care, consulting, government, insurance, and private organizations for nearly thirty years.Gaucher and Coffey have co-authored two award-winning books. The first, Transforming Healthcare Organizations, won the 1992 James A. Hamilton book-of-the-year award from the American College of Healthcare Executives. The second, Total Quality in Healthcare, won the American Nurses Association book-of-the-year award in 1993.

"Contained in this book is the management framework for driving creativity, continuous improvement, and customer value. A must-read for health care executives and professionals looking to improve operational performance to meet dynamic customer expectations." --Dick Smith, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP "This book is full of strategies for health care leaders to use to accelerate their improvement process." --Bob Parent, Conference Program Director, The Conference Board "This book, based on the real world experiences of the authors, is a must-read for health care executives; it provides unique insights and practical advice about how to overcome the daunting challenges of today's health care marketplace." --Robert P. Kelch, dean, The University of Iowa College of Medicine

• Tables, Figures, and Exhibits. Preface. The Authors. Health Care's New Sense of Urgency. The Relationship Between Business Excellence and Breakthrough Performance. Creating a Climate for Breakthrough Performance. The Characteristics of Breakthrough Performance. How Health Care Leaders Create Breakthrough Performance. Sharpening Your Customer Focus. Aligning the Organization for Action. Team Culture for Breakthrough Performance. Involving the Individual. Seven Indispensable Tools for Breakthrough. The Baldrige Criteria: Your Secret Weapon. Conclusion. Appendix A. A CompAndium of Questions for Breakthrough. Appendix B. Actions to Achieve Breakthrough. References. Index.