How Transferable is Deming's Approach to a Health and Social Care Setting?

Abstract

The current consumer demand–led environment poses a threat to the current state of health and social care system. It is expected to keep their sanctities for human values as always, but also provide ‘quality for cost’ services as any other commercial organisation.

The structural complexity of health care services and their unique professional and human element of management make it difficult to bring about change by applying any one magic approach.

Deming's approach was successfully implemented in the manufacturing industry, and whether this can this be applied to manage quality in the health care sector is question-able. Deming's ‘total quality improvement’ (TQI) approach has been experimented with very little success and satisfaction worldwide. This article analyses the rationale for its non-transferability to the health and social care system, and the causes of its failure in the past. This begs few serious questions: Did we apply management tools that were basically designed for the manufacturing and commercial industries to a service industry like health care inappropriately in the first place? Were these tools applied with sufficient understanding, and were they given enough time before evaluating their suitability?

There is a need for this discussion as to why and which part of his approach is and is not transferable to a health and social care setting. Adjustments may be needed either in the approach or the systems to be successful.