A national survey of United States Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers (n = 167) chiefs of staff was conducted. The survey solicited feedback of the atti tudes and perceptions of respondents toward plan ning, implementation, and monitoring of the Total Quality Management (TQM) process in their facili ties. A Likert scale type of responses were collected and analyzed to measure the degree of agreement or disagreement of the respondents to survey statements on TQM. The survey included responses to three sec tions of the questionnaire: 25 statements on TQM, information on the TQM process status in the facility, and demographics of respondents and their facilities. The results of the survey indicate a considerable involvement of responding chiefs of staff in the TQM process and indicated their willingness to support it. Respondents agreed that TQM requires time and com mitment of top management, and, again, they indi cated their willingness to devote the time necessary for the process to succeed. They were, however, cau tious in endorsing the statement that TQM will de crease health care costs (fiscal and human).
The survey provides information that should prove valuable to administration in planning TQM and Con tinuous Quality Improvement efforts.
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